


Because I love you.

by StaticCalm



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Peter Parker, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Infinity Gauntlet, Irondad, Memory Alteration, Other, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-11 16:19:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17450279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaticCalm/pseuds/StaticCalm
Summary: "The answer is still no." Peter responded with finality, voice dry from all the vomiting and soul-breaking confessions he had been doing in this long hours. There's no way Peter was going to agree to Ned's ridiculous plan. No way. He is not stupid. He's going to move on and keep on living his life.Nope. No way in hell Ned's plan was going to ruin his perfect and more painful plan of spending the rest of his life as far away from Mr. Stark as he can.No and that's final.________________________________________________________________________________"Welcome to Stark Industries." The bored tone of one of the staff members in charge of directing the chosen internship candidates was heard.Peter blinked slowly. What the hell just happened.





	1. Like a bad trip

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, first of all I would like to apologize. I started a fic called "Is it gonna be me or you?" but I'm not going to continue with it because I lost inspiration. I'm really sorry. 
> 
> Also, it's 6 a.m. and instead of sleeping I chose to write this. Here, suffer with me :)))))
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> really it's 6 a.m. please forgive any mistake in grammar or in general :))))))

 

 

 

 

 

**_Anger._ **

**_Pain._ **

**_Regret._ **

 

Everything and something worse was building inside of him. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He couldn’t believe this was even happening. Peter swore his eyesight was clouding everything around him. His hands were shaking, his head was spinning, his breathing was ragged and he felt the need to faint at any minute.

 

Thanos.

 

Titan.

 

The stones.

 

The avengers.

 

Quantum realm idiocy.

 

Doctor Strange.

 

**_HIM._ **

 

EVERYONE.

 

Everyone knew except for him.

 

He knew he had to control himself because he was not at home. He was at Ned's house. Ned. His best friend. The one who had not lied to him or disappointed him like most people around him. Ned, who was knocking incessantly on the bathroom door.

 

"Peter, really dude, you’re scaring me, is something happening?"

 

Ned kept insisting. He really didn’t remember how long he was locked in that bathroom, he just remembered getting up from the couch where he and Ned had been watching movies to go to the toilet and then the disaster happened.

 

_Disaster._

 

He remembered feeling like time was freezing, something inside his chest tightening and how nausea was building in his throat. His vision blurred and he could feel the tears come out in large proportions.

 

He still couldn’t feel his hands and he was sure that if he looked himself in the mirror he would see the reflection of a ghost. Just seeing how his trembling hands seemed to lose color the more time passed.

 

_Time._

 

**Huh.**

 

The wave of emotions returned to him whenever he remembered more and more. The anger was taking on a new color, a new **_degree_**. Something inside him was burning and possibly it was _him_. But that was not going to matter at that moment.

 

"PETER, SAY SOMETHING!"

 

"Was it something I said? I'm sorry, Peter, really. I didn’t know it was going to bother you this much, I just said it because I think it would be cool if you were part of the team. Seriously, dude, I'm your friend I wouldn’t say it to hurt you, I think- "

 

While Ned kept babbling word after word asking for forgiveness for something he was not to blame. Something that Ned would never be to blame.

 

Peter cannot even think correctly at this moment to be able to alleviate his friend's worries. This was beyond him. He can’t even think of what to say or how to react.

 

"I c-can't" His voice came out like a sigh and he could feel his throat closing, not letting the words through. He felt like he was burning.

 

**_And he was._ **

 

_“Like a bad trip_

_Wish I could forget all_

_The places we've been”._

His thoughts stopped for a moment when he heard the bathroom door open abruptly.

 

"Peter?" There was Ned, looking at him with worry in his eyes while Peter watched him as if the world was going to end. _Again._

 

"Peter, listen, I really don’t know what's happening but you're scaring me, really, dude, tell me what's going on and I'll help you, you know I'm your guy in the chair, I'll help you no matter what but you have to tell me what’s going on. " While Ned was still talking, he kept approaching Peter little by little as if trying to approach a very hurt and innocent animal. And maybe that was the reason he lost control at that moment.

 

"STAY AWAY, I'M _S-SICK_ AND **TIRED** OF THIS! WHY DO YOU ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE TO FIX THINGS FOR ME? WHY DO YOU ASSUME THAT I NEED HELP OR THAT I NEED TO TELL YOU WHAT’S GOING ON? I'M CLEARLY **_FINE_**! YOU C-CLEARLY **_SEE ME_** STANDING HERE AND FINE, B-BECAUSE ** _I AM_**!” Peter, in a manic manner, began to scream, raising his arms in an uncontrolled way while his breathing shook against every word he tried to emit but couldn’t control himself. There was a battle inside of him, he was trying to understand but this was happening way too fast for him. His voice sounded like he had been screaming for hours and this is the first time he speaks.

 

Ned looked at him for a long time, _scared_ , as if for the first time he was seeing another person and not his best friend. Raising his hands as if he was trying to defend himself, not knowing what to say.

After a few minutes, when Ned regained his voice he cautiously started talking

 

" _OK_ , _wow_. Peter, I wasn’t trying to imply that you need help or that I'm trying to fix things for you." He could hear how hurt and frightened his friend sounded. His anger was not directed at him. Ned really did not deserve his anger or the way he was speaking to him.

 

Peter felt like his world was destroying itself, emotions were killing him but he had to say something, he had to explain it because if he didn’t, he felt like he was going to die. **Again**. Suddenly he remembered something a few years or months ago, he really had no idea at the moment. When his uncle had died, when his world felt similar to what he was experiencing now _. His powers_ helped him. He remembered turning off his emotions. _Not permanently_ but enough to control himself in some situations.

 

With all the strength he had, he closed his eyes and tried to focus. He tried to remember how to numb his emotions, to find the switch to silence the revolution that was inside his soul. He could feel Ned sitting somewhere. He could feel his heartbeat hitting his chest violently and felt every sound coming from outside. He tried to align each sound, each emotion in a single compartment. He didn’t really know how long he had been standing in that bathroom, trying to control his mind and soul, with Ned a few steps away from him, waiting patiently for his friend.

 

After what felt hours, managed to calm down a little the voices, the sounds, **_the anger_** , the emotions.

 

"Peter?" Ned asked with fear in his voice.

 

Peter opened his eyes with determination. The headache was still present and he was sure his face looked like a wet raisin but he _had_ to say it.

 

" _Ned_." He handled his first word without stuttering or drowning. Perfect.

 

"Yes?" Ned got up slowly from where he was sitting and watched Peter patiently.

 

Peter nodded slowly. He didn’t really know why he was nodding, he just needed **_strength._**

 

"Remember what I told you when I came back?" Peter was proud. That was his first sentence.

 

Ned looked confused for a second but then his face contorted in recognition. " ** _Of course,_** y-you told me when we went to MoMa that in an inexplicable w-way, you _disappeared_ _like the rest o-of the people_."

 

This subject was still delicate and most of the people who disappeared in the event still had trouble articulating words when it came to the snap. It had been 6 months and things were not going to get better.

 

"Yes. **_I disappeared_**." Peter swallowed hard, he was not going to let himself be overcome by his emotions, at least not in that moment.

 

"I disappeared but there is _something else_." Ned nodded, letting him explain.

 

"I disappeared and they took me to a place with orange clouds, with _sounds and voices_ , silhouettes, shadows, **people**." He was explaining with what little he knew and remembered but enough to explain his point of view. "They called it **"The soul world"** Doctor Strange said that's what it was called, I know you have no idea what I'm talking about or what people I'm talking about but _you have to trust **me**."_

 

"I do, Peter, _I always do_." Peter felt a little of his emotions subside as he heard Ned say that. Peter nodded again but this time with less aggressiveness.

 

He observed his best friend for a while, he really didn’t know how to explain everything that went through his mind but he did remember what happened a couple of hours ago.

 

He and Ned had been binge watching their favorite movies in Netflix. Everything was fine, his world had not collapsed until he felt the need to go to the bathroom. Everything was ok until he accidentally tripped on a towel and threw some make up to the ground creating a disaster. The worst part? When he started to cough the weird-looking powder, feeling the substance enter his nose. Suddenly the powder was transformed into dust. _Bright yellow dust_ and a **purple silhouette** began to look clearer.

 

_For months_ , he felt like there was a blank space in his mind, something was **not** right, something he couldn’t recognize. For months, he spent wondering if the strange event, the _"snap"_ had caused him some symptoms or weird repercussions. But he was sure something **was wrong.** Something was wrong in his _mind_. He had told his friends about this. Ned, Betty, Gwen, Harry and he even told MJ. Everyone had told him that it was probably his imagination, he was probably going through a depressive episode after the event. They told him that it was _understandable_ , many people needed therapy and treatments in order to even grasp what happened.

 

He always knew it was not just _that._ He knew that one day he would get his answers. Why walking from Midtown of Tech to his apartment felt weird and when school was over he always expected something or someone in front of the entrance of the parking lot. Why he sometimes felt he knew more things than he should. **Why** going out as Spiderman felt tedious and _suffocating_.

 

Why he felt _observed_. He couldn’t walk without looking back or checking his sides every now and then.

 

_Why_ a black car always seemed to be close to where he was. In the supermarket, the dry cleaner, the bookstore, the restaurants he went. He felt he was going to go **_crazy_** , but he knew it was **not madness,** but something was _very_ wrong.

 

So this was the day he received his answers and he really doesn’t know if he is going to be fine for the _rest of his life._

 

The man in the black car that chased him constantly is named **_Happy_** , Harold Hogan; bodyguard and forehead of security. The black car belonged to **_Stark Industries_**. And the man who ordered that car to follow him is called **Tony Stark**.

 

**_Mr. Stark_ **

_"Nice work, kid."_

_"Jesus Tony, how old is this guy?"_

_"I do not know, I did not carbon date him! He's on the young side."_

_"So, you're the Spider-ling? Crime-Fighting-Spider? Spider-Boy?_

_"You ever been to Germany?"_

_"Can’t you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?"_

_"I put everything in your suit, including this heater."_

_"And if you died, I feel like that's on me."_

_"I do not need that on my conscience."_

 

Flashbacks started to his blur his mind.

 

**_His mentor_ **

****

**_His father figure._ **

 

The man he considered and very much within himself still considers _a **father** to him._

Mr. Stark _lied to him_. _He lied to **him**_ **,** not only lied to him, **_he shattered his soul_**. He remembered everything, space with Iron Man, saving Doctor Strange, fighting Thanos on Titan with the Guardians. He remembered _the most horrible moment of his life_ , he remembered begging Mr. Stark to help him **_not to_** disappear.

 

He remembered waking up in a room with white walls. A place he recognized with everything he had. The Med-bay at the compound. **_The Avengers Compound._** The place he had attended so many times. He remembered how Doctor Strange and Mr. Stark were murmuring about his state. Both murmured something about his memories.

 

It was not difficult to put the pieces together, he was _not stupid_. He is a genius with an _IQ of 250._ _Definitely not a fool_. **Strange had erased his memories.**

 

_At the request of Mr. Stark._

 

Or that was what he thought, because the Mr. Stark that he remembered would never have allowed Strange to enter his mind until he had erased big parts of his life. _And how he was so sure it was at the request of Mr. Stark?_

_What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? 'Cause that's on you. And if you died, I feel like that's on me. I don’t need that on my conscience._

 

If Mr. Stark _had not ordered that_ , he would’ve tried to contact him. But he didn’t. He did not **receive any calls** , **no text messages.** Not even an email from the man. **_He did not receive anything_**. It was as if they had never met. And **_that hurt._** Scratch that, it not only hurts like hell but **_it burns._**

****

**_Why did Mr. Stark do that? Why he decided to erase only his memories? Why he dared to do that to him?_ **

 

_Peter loves Tony with all his being_. The man had been there for him in his difficult moments, the man would have given him support and support every time. _Mr. Stark was there when Peter had a nightmare, when he came back beaten after a long night of patrol_. The one who helped him heal deep hidden wounds. The one who protected him and always looked after him. _The one who wanted and loved him as a son. The one who inspired him in everything._

_Why?_

_What for?_

_He didn't understand anything._

_So he explained everything to Ned_. Because Ned always had an answer, Ned always supported him, Ned always had his back. Ned was his guy in the chair. He told him, _with tears, with sweat on his forehead, with nausea in his throat, with his eyes red and tired. With his heart broken and shattered._

 

**But he told him.**

 

Ned's reaction had many stages. First, it was _disbelief_. Ned didn't really understand much either, given he also didn’t remember those parts of Peter's life, he just remembered having discovered that his best friend is Spiderman because of Peter's clumsiness. But after more painful words and explanations, Ned was in _conflict_ , because much of what Peter said _made sense_. Where the Spiderman suit **had come from** , why Peter remembered things with such accuracy and precision. Why Peter knew the name of the majority of the staff in Stark industries and many parts of the building. Why Peter knew personal data from some of The Avengers. Why Peter knew **too much.**

 

Although his best friend was unsure of the information, he decided to believe him. Because Peter doesn't lie with important things like this. _Also,_ the person Ned saw a couple of hours ago _; uncontrolled and furious_ , it was not the Peter he knew, so something must have caused that.

 

"Ok, so Iron Man ordered the wizards with the green stone to do that after they managed to beat the intergalactic alien that made half of humanity disappear." It sounded crazy, pretty much but the fact that many had disappeared and the Avengers didn't offer a concrete response to the public explains a lot.

 

"Exactly, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true, I know it all happened, **_I lived it._** I really don't know why you can't remember it, probably because I'm enhanced, my powers allowed me to somehow process that information. The thing that you asked me while we were watching the news this morning probably triggered my memories. I've been wondering about many things for months since the snap happened and I've been looking for blank spaces in my mind." His voice was muffled, _lifeless_. Obviously his emotions were always on edge but at least he had managed to calm them down for a while. _Even if now he sounded like a lifeless robot._

"What did I ask you this morning that caused you to trigger the memories? I remember asking you a million things, you know how I am, but I really don't know which one of them could've affected you that way." Ned watched him carefully, obviously he had been thinking about that for a few minutes.

 

Peter sighed deeply. He knew exactly what the question was. He had stayed at Ned's house so he could spend time with him the next day. When they were preparing breakfast, Ned's mother had put on the news. He had seen this before, however, for some reason his brain always told him to ignore everything related to it.

 

Young mutants and talented people formed a group called "The Young Avengers". Something new that the original Avengers had formed after the Snap. Kids who looked happy to be on camera receiving recognition for their abilities. Ned had commented on how "cool" these guys were and how great it would be to be a part of them. The Avengers were at the conference while the kids received recognition medals from the government. Peter and Ned watched the Avengers, most of them were behind the kids as they watched them with pride.

 

 The camera zoomed in on the faces of the adults; Black Widow as always looked indecipherable but even with her spy skills you could see that the woman was not really convinced that they were doing the right thing or maybe she was still mourning the death of Captain America.

 

_Something that was also a sensitive issue these days._

 

Clint Barton was standing along the others watching a dark haired girl with pride in his eyes. The famous renowned scientist Dr. Banner was playing with the tip of his coat while alternating his gaze between the audience and his feet. Then Thor, standing tall and powerful as always, smiling at the audience and the camera in a comical and over-exaggerated manner. His hair looked different and his clothes too, however, the man looked very happy for some reason.

 

Finally, the camera focused on the man who made everything possible _. Tony Stark. Iron Man._

 

He looked **_miserable._**

 

At that time Peter didn't have the knowledge he has now, so he was really confused when he saw that his idol was looking ready to jump off a cliff. The man was standing tense, his jaw was clenched and seemed painful to even watch him. His posture shouted pain and tension. He was radiating _anxiety._

 

Ned and Peter had been confused for a while about that, they were even discussing the reasons why Iron Man could be in that position. After Ned's mom left for work, Ned asked the question.

 

" ** _Why are you not there?_** I mean, Spiderman is quite popular, a lot of people have heard about you, so I don't understand why the Avengers didn't ask you to be in that group."

 

And the truth is that when Ned asked him, Peter felt a poke in his heart. He knew that that had upset him for some reason, but since the question came up, he felt tense all day long and the questions kept recurring in his head.

 

Now that he knew the truth or was really still trying to assimilate the truth, Peter felt empty. He felt that at any minute he was going to go crazy. It was between feeling empty or exploding with pain.

 

"So that was the question, huh." There was a long moment of silence. "Sorry, Peter, I'm sorry I asked."

 

"It's not your fault, sooner or later I would have realized this with or without your help, so don't worry." That was the dry response that Peter managed to give. He not only felt hurt, betrayed and destroyed but he could feel every vibration of his body react to the truth. Like someone was constantly poking his skin and his head seemed to spin as more time passed.

 

"I don't really know what to tell you, Peter." And the truth was that Peter also didn't know what to say or how to react. How to feel normal again. Because after this, Peter could never be the person he was before.

****

**_Why?_ **

 

He was still remembering more things than before he didn't have in mind. Like, a couple of months ago the press announced the famous and successful Tony Stark had a genius protégé who was apparently destined to be the heir of Stark industries. The boy's name is Harley Keener, a boy from Rose Hill, Tennessee, who once crossed paths with Tony Stark when the latter broke into his garage to fix his armor. This kid was also part of the **“Young Avengers”.** The press had successfully explained how the contact between Tony and the kid happened. Apparently Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, had given an exclusive about this guy too.

 

That was hurting and burning more in Peter's heart, because before the Snap, **he** was _that boy_. Before the Snap, **he** was the _pride_ of Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts. Before the Snap, the press wondered **_who he_** was and if **he** was going to inherit Stark Industries. Peter felt tears build up in his eyes and Ned reacted quickly and wrap up his best friend in his arms.

 

" ** _I-I don't understand, I don’t u-understand why h-he did this to m-me,_** I don't understand **_why_** _he l-left **me** ,_ I don't understand why ** _he_** **_r-replaced me_**." Peter sobbed with pain in his voice. He was shaking uncontrollably. His heart was beating too fast and he could feel every vein in his body burn.

 

"I don't know, Peter, I really don't know ..." Ned was trying to help his best friend but it was really difficult for him because he didn't remember much, however, there is something he _could never tolerate_ and that is, **_someone hurting Peter._** Ned had never seen Peter in this state before and his mind was making plans that a boy his age should not be formulating. Well, at least not a genius young student, like him, from a school full of genius kids, like them.

 

They were in that position for a long time. It had been hours, Ned had texted his mother telling him that Peter had a crisis and needed time to be alone.

 

"Peter." Ned called him. Ned was determined now.

 

Peter raised his head as best he could even though his body was begging him to rest. Still very dizzy, he asked "What?"

 

"How would you like an internship for a big company for a while?" There was something malicious in Ned's voice, he was using his _I-am-batman_ voice. He usually used that voice when he asked him to build a LEGO Death Star but this time with a more serious and intrepid tone.

 

Peter tensed and felt the nausea return, he really didn't know what Ned pretended with that question but it was _not funny_.

 

" ** _Ned_**." He warned in a serious tone, as much as he could _at least_ , because he was sure he would return the food he ate all day at any minute.

 

"Listen, this is not just me messing around, man. This is called _"getting answers"_ something I'm sure you would never do without incentive but something _you totally deserve,_ something you have to do to let your mind rest in peace. Are you going to spend the rest of your life feeling like this? Ignored? With a lot of questions inside you? How are you going to ignore and avoid seeing the news every day? How are you going to avoid meeting some Avenger along the way? Because you know someday is going to happen..." Ned explained the situation for Peter in the best possible way. He had a solution that could help his best friend and that would solve a lot of things about the matter.

 

"And how do you pretend that I get " _answers_ " by having an internship in a company?" Peter really didn't understand Ned's master plan.

 

Ned smiled. At least Peter was speaking with a little more clarity. "Not just _any_ company."

 

Peter frowned, he didn't like where this was going.

****

**_"Stark Industries."_ **

 

Oh no. Yep, the nausea had returned on a large scale.

 

Peter got up abruptly, staggering for a moment and then walking with difficulty to the sink to throw up the contents of his stomach. Ned got up in the same way, walking towards his friend to help him.

 

_This was not going to take away the determination._

 

"I know this is not the easy way to do things but you really think that if you go and ask Mr. Stark what happened, he would answer you? Peter, _it's been months_ and you told me that you and Mr. Stark have known each other for _almost three years_ , you just don't " _forget_ " to keep in touch with someone for six months after you've known them _for so_ long, he's obviously been avoiding you, _you need_ to get answers, so what better way than to win an internship in the man's territory?" Peter rolled his eyes in exasperation. He kept leaving the remains of the day's food in the sink while trying to regain his sanity and tell his best friend that this was not a spy movie and that infiltrating such a powerful company is dangerous and stupid.

 

"No". Somehow, that was the only thing he could articulate.

 

"Peter, _c'mon_." Ned was patting him on the back to try to relieve the horrible puffs of air his friend seemed to give every five minutes.

 

"No." Stubborn. Ned can work with that.

 

"Peter, are you _really_ going to let that guy take your place?" He knew it was dirty but he had to try it. His friend had to see that his master plan was brilliant.

 

Peter _stopped_ for a moment. The subject still obviously _hurt too much_ but Peter, _being Peter_ , tried to ignore the pain and asked, "This is ridiculous, Ned, even if for some stupid reason I agree to your dangerous and embarrassing plan, how the hell would I get an internship at Stark Industries if Mr. Stark doesn't even want to talk to me?" _Huh_ , it still hurt to say those words.

 

" _That's when_ Ned comes in. _Your guy in the chair."_ Ned smiled proudly as he pointed to himself with his thumb. Peter was _not_ impressed. Ned sighed as he shook his head.

 

"Fine, you told me that you knew many names of the company's employees, and that you had access to many parts of the building, what makes you think that you no longer have access to those places? Also, didn't you tell me you found some badges in one of your backpacks months ago but you never bothered to check them? What makes you think that Mr. Stark told _each_ staff member to forget about you and not let you enter the building? It sounds silly and unrealistic." _Huh._

 

It does _sound_ silly. It is _impossible_ that Mr. Stark had told each staff member to forget about him or to restrict him access to the building.

 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. would recognize me." Peter replied. He doesn't really know where the answer came from because he absolutely _was not_ going to agree to Ned's plan.

 

Ned's smile stretched. The idea was forming in his friend's mind. His plan was working.

 

"You still have the suit, don't you? You told me that your suit works with the help of an a.i. you named "Karen", what makes you think that “Karen” is not there monitoring _every step you take_?" _Okay._ This also made sense. He hadn't bothered to wear the suit too much because the world was still recovering from a great loss and had really focused on helping to build certain parts of the city instead of catching bicycle criminals.

 

"The answer is still _no_." Peter responded with finality, voice dry from all the vomiting and soul breaking confessions he had been doing in this long hours. There's no way Peter was going to agree to Ned's ridiculous plan. _No way_. He _is not_ stupid. He's going to move on and keep on living his life.

 

_Nope._ No way in hell Ned's plan was going to ruin his perfect and _more painful_ plan of spending the rest of his life as far away from Mr. Stark as he can.

 

**_No and that's final._ **

 

   _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

"Welcome to Stark Industries." The bored tone of one of the staff members in charge of directing the chosen internship candidates was heard.

 

Peter blinked slowly. What the hell _just_ happened.

 

"We are proud and grateful for your dedication during all these months and the great sacrifices you made to win this internship, Stark Industries only chooses exceptional people who will help change the world for the better. If you like, you can get a free tour provided by our master guide Dr. Jenkins, who will show you the most innovative and interesting parts you will be working on during these months. " He knew that bored and jaded voice. Hilda. One of the receptionists.

 

She looked really different but her "spirits" were still the same.

 

"Now, those who really want the tour, it's not mandatory, need to show me the badges you got when you went through the security area, again, this tour is not necessary and it's not mandatory." Apparently, he is the not only one who doesn't want to receive this tour. Hilda was tired of it because she had received it too many times in her life. The other interns looked incredibly excited, unfortunately, so the tour was going to happen. _Wait a moment._ The badges.

 

_Damn it._

 

All this time he was hiding among the other interns to remain unnoticed. He had agreed with Ned he was going to receive his internship in a part of the building he had almost never visited and many of the employees didn't know of his existence. _The aerospace area._

 

It's not like he didn't know much about aerospace, it's just that it's not his thing. But, he could learn. He was a genius _after all_.

 

Nothing could go wrong. _Nope_. He just had to try to stay unnoticed by some people, however, he was not so sure that he would go far in this plan. Hilda was collecting the badges with a look of boredom. Peter let his heart give the necessary leaps before the horrible thing happened.

 

When he was handing over his pass, Hilda stopped for a second to observe him. Peter swallowed hard.

 

"You seem familiar to me, have I seen you before?" She asked as she analyzed his face carefully.

 

"N-No, I d-don’t think so." Ok, _damn_. He really isn't good at keeping coverage. He would _really suck_ if he were a SHIELD agent.

 

"Oh, you remind me of an ex-boyfriend of high school, I knew your nose looked familiar to me." Hilda commented as she watched him with hostility. _Wow_. Apparently, Hilda never had a good romantic life but it didn't matter because he was sure he was going to pee out of relief.

 

"Okay." Peter replied as he slowly walked towards the other interns. He let out a sigh of relief as the tour began. He had already seen this tour a million times, he really was not interested in listening.

 

Half an hour later, when the tour was about to end, Dr. Jenkins decided to take them to one of the laboratory areas of one of the northern building's parts. They were stuck in one of the halls because Dr. Jenkins was trying to get his access card to work.

 

Peter sighed, why doesn't he just admit that he does not have access to that part of the building? The man was swiping the card over and over the access point as he alternated nervous glances between the interns and the door.

 

Peter rolled his eyes. This was going to take time.

 

When he felt a small prick on the back of his head he knew that something was going to happen, his spidey sense was always on time.

 

As he turned his head to the right he could see Colonel James Rhodes himself walk in the other hall opposite to where they were. _Peter stood frozen_. He could've made an escape but his brain didn't cooperate with him at that moment. Mr. Rhodes turned his head casually to greet the interns cordially, however, when he located Peter, _he stopped._ _It's funny_ , they were both frozen. The other interns exchange confused glances between them. Peter was still seeing looking at Mr. Rhodes and he was still watching Peter as if he had seen a ghost.

 

**_Damn._ **


	2. They hold accountability on a warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your sweet and kind comments! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and suffer again with me ;))))

.

 

 

 

 

_It was awkward._

 

**_Very much._ **

****

When Mr. Rhodes decided to leave his _catatonic state of surprise_ , Peter knew his throat was going to explode because he was holding back the urge to scream with all his being. He felt _drowned_ again.

 

Trying not to lose the most idiotic impulse he had taken in his life, at that exact moment, Peter Parker _grew up_. You can only pay for what once killed you with the same burden that was imposed on your shoulders.

 

He turned his head towards the other interns and pretended that he hadn't seen anything. His heart was still beating hard and his legs wanted to give in but his mind wouldn't let him. For the first time in his life, his mind was walking at the same pace as him.

 

" _W-well,_ as you can see, my access card is not working at the moment, anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this tour, Stark Industries expects the best of you, so you _cannot_ stay behind." Dr. Jenkins obviously had noticed the presence of War Machine in the same way as the interns and decided to play it off by giving them a speech.

 

One of the interns raised her hand to ask something. Dr. Jenkins nodded, allowing her to speak.

 

"Can _we_ meet Mr. Rhodes?" The girl who asked was trying to keep her enthusiasm in check, trying to look professional in front of her coworkers.

 

Peter felt his heart fall _more_ and _more_. He was brave but not enough to stand in front of _War Machine_ and confront him.

 

"I-I'm sure Mr. Rhodes has more important things to do, we _shouldn't_ bother him." Dr. Jenkins didn't even bother to look back at the Colonel who was standing idly in the opposite hall posing a look of _terror and confusion._

 

"Well, I think we should go, it's lunch time and I'm sure you'll love everything the chefs cooked today for lunch. Peter swore at that moment that he could never have been more grateful to Dr. Jenkins for his deceitful personality.

 

They began to walk to the other side of the hall, Peter and Dr. Jenkins _more hastily_ than the others, something told him that the man was not in the mood to be reproached either.

 

Peter felt a vibration in his pants, he sighed heavily. _Ned._

 

When he took out his phone, he noticed he had many missed calls from Ned and a lot of text messages from May. At the time the interns walked to the elevators, Peter managed to make his escape and was walked towards one of the corridors further away in the building. He searched the contact list and called Ned.

 

"Peter, **_what the hell were you doing!?_** Why didn't you hide!? _Jesus_ , dude" Peter frowned as he looked to his sides looking for some secret camera in which Ned could be watching him.

 

" _Shhh, calm down, Ned!_ " Peter tried to shush him, alarmed someone could come by and hear his conversation in some way. "And how do you know what _just_ happened?"

 

"The cap, **Duh**." The cap? _Oh._ The cap he was wearing. Had Ned installed a camera for him?

 

"Ned, this is _not_ a spy movie, did you really install a camera on my cap?" When Ned handed him the cap he simply put it on to go unnoticed, he really had no idea there was a camera in it.

 

"I'm your guy in the chair, what did you expect?" Peter let out a breath of air he didn't know he had been holding. "This is _too_ much, Ned, I only saw Mr. Rhodes and _I froze_ , I couldn't do _anything_ , my body didn't answer me, I'm _not_ ready for this."

 

"You're just saying that because you panicked, this is the first time you see one of Mr. Stark's friends since the _magical intergalactic snap_ happened." Ned was right, but that didn't take away the deep anxiety that ran through Peter's body. "Besides, I already knew something like this would happen, so _I called_ for backup."

**What.**

_Backup?_

 

"What _backup_?" Peter asked, _alarmed_. He looked around as he went deeper into the dark corridor. Now that he thought about it, it was strange that no one had found him until now, he understood that Ms. Potts was in charge of the admissions of interns for the company and until now nobody had come to look for him. He had assumed his day was going to end _with the police_ escorting him home, to be honest. Ned ignored his question.

 

"Ok, listen, this is today's plan, you're at your lunch break and starting at 1:30 p.m., you go with the introductory tour to the laboratories of the interns to know what kind of work you will be doing during the week- "Peter contorted his face with confusion. _Where is Ned getting this information from? And how did he know all that?_

 

" _I know_ what you are going to say and _I'm more than sure_ you received the information and schedules in your mail but you didn't bother to check because you were determined not to be convinced but _you are there and you have me here_ ". Peter smiled softly, he really felt Ned's support.

 

"Okay, guy in the chair, where to now?" He walked out of the hallway letting the light reach his eyes. He was coming out of the darkness that seemed to chase him everywhere and if Ned was convinced of this plan, he should be too.

 

"Next elevator to your right. You just have to mark the main floor to get to the central dining room, apparently the tour guide mentioned that most of the important and high-access staff eat in the main dining room and even if you run into one of them I doubt they will know who you are. " Ned seemed to have everything under control, so Peter dared to dream

 

Upon entering the elevator, he lowered his cap a bit to hide his face, there were a couple of people inside the place but the more the merrier, he guessed.

 

Everything was fine until he heard a familiar voice among the people in the lift. This were the moments where he couldn't believe that his spidey sense was betraying him.

 

"And _try_ to get my sandwich with a lot of mayonnaise, you know I don't like it when the bread feels dry inside my mouth and we also have to talk about the-" **_Happy._** There was only one man who could sound so serious about the ingredients of a sandwich and that was Happy Hogan without doubt. Peter felt his body tense and take a rigid stance. _What was Happy doing in this area of the company?_

 

He swallowed quickly and repetitively, he was sure that the woman next to him could clearly hear the sounds he was making. He was right in front of the elevator doors between two staff members and with more executives behind him, _one of them being Happy._ His head was beginning to spin; _he was going to kill Ned._ If they didn't kill _him_ before ...

 

For some silly reason, _Happy_ , for the first time in his life decided to shut up and leave the atmosphere of the elevator even more tedious, deep down he could hear the notes of the _Orinoco Flow_ echoing in the elevator. While for the others the music was enjoyable, for Peter it was the most exasperating thing and he was sure he was within a minute of having one-

 

 

"No, _seriously_ , the sandwich needs to be perfect, I'll be overseeing the new projects the new snotty punks are going to be developing for the company so I need to be in shape." Peter almost let out a snort. He means he wants to watch _Golden Chicks Club_ while he eats his sandwich and-

 

 

Peter opened his eyes wide in a frantic way and almost had a panic attack in front of those people. _Happy will be in charge of looking at what now?_

_We can sail, we can sail with the Orinoco flow_

_We can sail, we can sail_

 

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

_Sail away, sail away, sail away_

_Sail away, sail away, sail away_

 

Waiting for the elevator, he could hear the _familiar notes_ of a song. Tony rolled his eyes irritably as he massaged the vein that threatened to come out and explode from his head, apparently the pills weren't working and he was going to fire the idiot who chose the elevator music.

Upon hearing the familiar sound of the elevator doors opening he never imagined _seeing what he was seeing at that moment._

 

With crossed arms and frowning, there he was; _the reason for his nightmares and torments._

 

" _Get in._ We need to talk." Rhodey demanded with a tense and defiant attitude. Tony looked at him with confusion for a second and then simply shrugged his shoulders and entered the elevator.

 

"What? Food not good enough? Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood for discussing your expensive and weird taste in food." Rhodey frowned more deeply. His best friend was _moving farther and farther away from reality_ , and he felt powerless again, because he couldn't help him.

 

"No, and _I told you_ to stop taking those pills, _it's not_ healthy, you're _not_ 18 anymore, Tones, your body can't take this crap anymore." Rhodey observed his friend's posture, he was leaning against the wall of the elevator while squeezing the papers he was carrying in his hands, he was definitely having an electromagnetic headache of some sort.

 

Tony tried to roll his eyes but his head was killing him and he was not going to risk the chance of his eyes rolling towards the back of his head. _Huh, not a bad idea._ Maybe so he could see what was wrong with his brain at that moment.

 

" _Listen_ , Tones, there's something you need to know." Rhodey tried sound confident but there was uncertainty in his voice. he really didn't know if this was a good idea.

 

But he promised Tony to tell him everything related to-

 

"You're going to start nagging me about the new interns? _I told you_ , I left that job to Happy, he'll have everything under control, _don't worry_." Tony responded with exasperation. His head was really trying to torture him. Maybe a couple more pills were going to relieve the pain. Or maybe they were going to relieve the pain _forever_ at once. _Better idea._

 

Rhodey paused for a moment, was it really a good idea to comment on what he saw? Maybe his mind was playing him tricks and he was wrong. It was impossible to see what he saw, _completely_. Rhodey shook his head. This was giving _him_ a headache.

Tony watched the elevator walls closely, his mind was in another world, he felt as if he were floating. Really, the pills had done their trick but not even such potent pills could compete with his self-destructive desire to feel nothing.

 

The deep desire to forget everything and close his eyes for _last damn time_. When the song finally changed, the atmosphere _felt strange._

 

_So the world goes round and round_

_With all you ever knew_

 

He turned his head towards his best friend, "Something happened." He didn't know how to describe it but he just felt that something was happening. Something inside him moved but he didn't know what it was.

 

"Yes. About that ..." Rhodes stopped for a second, hesitant.

 

_If every man says all he can_

_If every man is true_

 

Tony watched him expectantly. _No._ Not those eyes again. _This time_ he was going to save Tony, he was sure this was the only way. Those were not the eyes of _The_ Tony Stark. **_Tony_** , the one who had enthusiastically showed him each one of his projects since he was 15 years old. The man who thought the world needed protection, the one who watched over everyone. The one that had the answer to every problem in the world.

_This is not that Tony Stark._

 

This is a ghost. An entity. The corpse was moving Tony and not the other way around. The shadow of a broken man. And Rhodey was going to change that. So he decided to keep this info to himself. He was going to _hold the accountability of a warrior._

 

"They're putting snail soup on the menu again, this building stinks." Rhodey complained as he tried to lighten the mood with a more cheerful tone.

 

Tony let out a snort. Of course. "Do not worry, we'll only be here for a few minutes and then we can order some cheeseburgers from that fancy place you like." Well, at least Tony was talking a little bit more like himself, very much forced but the intention was there.

 

Rhodey smiled slightly sideways. _I will save you, Tony. Like it or not._

 

_If all you told was turned to gold_

_If all you dreamed was new_

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

When Peter finally managed to get out of the elevator he felt his life pass before his eyes. _He really should stop doing this to himself._ It's not healthy. He walked as fast as possible to one of the halls pretending he had a call while walking straight and tense. He was not going to turn around and see _by any means_. _Great plan, Ned._

 

When he heard Happy mutter something about _"those cheese sticks didn't sit well with me"_ he knew he was saved but **not for long.**

 

" ** _Ned!_** _Happy is going to supervise the new interns!_ _I told you_ that this was a ** _stupid_** plan." Peter tried to whisper as much as he could but the panic was causing his voice to go up a scale. He really didn't know if Ned could hear him through the camera but he didn't care, he had to let out _all the adrenaline and anxiety_ he had to retain during the long time he was in that elevator. He would _never_ use the elevator again. The stairs are _good_ ; the stairs _were not_ going to betray him.

 

After getting his heart to calm down a bit, Peter started walking in search of the central dining room, Ned commented the dining room was going to be almost empty, so he was not going to have any problems.

 

When he managed to locate the dining room, he entered carefully, this time being avoiding to experience again the last two heart attacks he suffered in the past three hours and a half. When he saw that there was only one woman drinking coffee and one of the cleaning staff members, he sighed with relief. He could finally eat with peace.

 

When he was about to finish making his sandwich, he heard _another_ person enter. At first, he didn't give it much thought because he was sure that the new visitor was not someone he knew, but as the minutes passed, he felt that he _recognized_ that voice from somewhere.

 

"I'm telling you, mom, _this is crazy!_ Incredibly crazy! And then the mechanic told me I could-" Peter felt a _chill_ run through him. There was something about that voice that was worrying him.

 

"Yes, yes, _Harley_ , I understand, sweetie. Can you tell me later? I need to go to an important meeting, I promise to listen to you after the meeting, okay, honey? We can grab some burgers and talk about our day-" **_Harley_**. Peter's heart was _sinking_ for the fourth time that day. _Now_ he was sure that he would end up in the Med-bay somehow.

 

Peter closed his eyes as he mentally kicks himself _again and again._ Was this building _so_ popular that most of the important staff appeared constantly?

 

_What the hell was he going to do?_ This boy was the new _"son"_ of Mr. Stark. **_Ouch._** Why the hell did Ned send him to such dangerous parts? He had millions of questions in his head and he was sure he looked weird standing stiffly with his back to the boy with his sandwich in one hand and holding the mayonnaise with the other.

 

"Uh ... _Hello?_ " The boy asked indecisive. As a greeting. _Almost._

 

Peter let out a tear. _Of course._ Now, he couldn't move.

 

"Are you authorized to be here?" The boy asked again something as he approached him slowly.

 

Peter held back the tears as much as he could. He was not going to let himself be defeated. _He couldn't._ Grabbing all the courage he had, he wiped the only tear he had let out and turned around.

 

The boy analyzed him for a few seconds, _apparently_ , he also knew that he had seen him from somewhere but luckily still couldn't remember _where_. Peter pointed with his index finger at the badge hanging on his neck.

 

"Yes, _I am authorized_."

 

" _I see_." The boy frowned as he continued to watch him. The atmosphere was tense and Peter could no longer feel his body but he was _not going to give up._

 

"Ah, you must be one of the new interns! The Mechanic mentioned something about this a couple of weeks ago. You should be with the other interns in the other dining room at the end of this hallway. You _are not_ authorized to enter any place you want, I'm sorry, but they're rules. "

 

Peter finally managed to feel his body again, this time the temperature of his body was _heating to high_ _levels_ instead of freezing. Some time ago, no one would've questioned his stay _anywhere_ in all the buildings and warehouses that belonged to The Avengers or Stark Industries, _now_ , they told him where to go, _now_ , he wore a badge and _now_ he was a **_memory._**

 

"Hilda said I could go to any dining room that I felt comfortable with, so I don't see why this is _"breaking the rules"_ , I'll just eat and then I'll go." Peter lied with _all the strength_ he had inside. _All the dignity_ that he had left.

 

The boy didn't seem to take _his_ _attitude well_ , instead of leaving him alone, Harley crossed his arms.

 

"Watch the tone, _dude,_ I'm not _just_ any staff member here, I'm practically the future _owner_ of the building, actually". And if **_that_** didn't hurt Peter he didn't know what will.

 

" _Tony Stark_ would hate to see of his interns being disrespectful towards _me._ He's **_very_**   protective of me, you know." _Ok,_ Peter was **_wrong_** , he did know what would hurt him more and **_this is it._** This is where his heart _exploded_. This is where he felt his world **_crashing down._**

 

He was looking for answers and **_he got them._**

 

**_His father figure_** had replaced _him_ and just left _him_ after Thanos killed _him_ , after he went through the _most horrible experience of his life_ , after he _lost_ Ben, after he lost _his_ own father. He has _lost_ another one again. And the worst part was that this time his father figure _was alive_ and didn't mind _breaking his heart_ this way.

 

Peter blinked and the tears came easily, they kept flowing and Peter had to grab his chest with his left hand because the pain _was too much_ and he felt he was going to faint. **This was too much.** _All of this._ _His parents, Being an orphan, Ben. May. Ben dying. Tony. Tony smiling at him, telling him that he was his responsibility and that he was not going to leave him. The rubble. The vulture. The plane crash. The spaceship. The aliens. The stones. Thanos. Dying. The soul world._ **This was too much for him.**

 

" _Wow,_ listen, this is not that deep, dude, I was just telling you to be more respectful, I-" The boy started to babble words, apparently, Harley thought Peter was feigning tears to win sympathy and that's why he hadn’t moved from where he was with his arms crossed.

 

_Suddenly,_ a blonde girl appeared in the entrance of the dining room and began to speak quickly and calculated. " _Goodness_ , where were you, Peter? We were waiting for you, sorry for the interruption, Peter is having severe heart problems and needs attention. _Could you give us a few moments alone?_ "

 

Harley raised an eyebrow at the sight of the girl, _clearly_ , not believing her. "You _do_ know he's just faking it, right?"

 

Gwen smiled tense and serious "I don't know, _you tell me_ , you're good at this too, right?"

 

Peter could barely follow the thread of the conversation, he had something broken inside him and he knew there was **_no way to repair it._**

 

Gwen had been an intern for Stark Industries for a few months ago now and this was what Ned was referring to as backup. _Ned had called her._

 

"Are you upset with me or something? This is _just_ a new Intern, Gwen. It's not a big deal, I was just telling him about the rules, we've already had kids that behave like this to gain the Mechanic's attention and _you know it_ , you have been there." Harley explained while watching her. Gwen raised an eyebrow at him and then walked over to Peter and helped him sit on one of the chairs.

 

"Harley, **_go_** , I need to help him and he's clearly having an anxiety attack." Gwen commanded him while arranging Peter in the chair.

 

Harley stopped to look at them for a moment before rolling his eyes and leaving the kitchen.

 

"I-I'm fine, Gwen. D-don't worry." The moment Harley disappeared, Peter tried to get up and Gwen didn't let him.

 

" ** _You're not alright_** , Peter, and it's _understandable_. You were **_right_** , you were _absolutely_ right when you told us you felt something weird after the snap, Ned told us _everything_ and I'm sure you didn't want that but _you're not alone_ Peter." Gwen apologized while keeping Peter in the chair. The thing is, Gwen had investigated as much as she could after Ned had told them the truth. There was only little information that an intern like her could gather before being discovered but there was _something_ she had collected.

 

Peter didn't respond. He simply devoted himself to trying to get his breathing back to normal.

 

"I found a credential with your name and photo in one of the archives of the _engineering_ building." Gwen commented in a low voice after a while. "I thought maybe they were thinking of you as a potential candidate to be an intern but _then_ I looked up at the date."

 

" _You've been a member of the highest rank for Stark industries for **three and a half years**_." Gwen told him with remorse in her voice. _For not believing him before_. "You were telling us the truth, I'm **_so_** sorry, Peter."

 

_Ouch._

 

_Well_ , he was sorry too.

 

_For not being enough. Not good enough to be what Mr. Stark expected him to be. For getting **replaced and forgotten.**_

 

"I know you must be blaming yourself for this but **_none_** of this is your fault, Peter, _NOTHING_ , and this guy; Harley, doesn't have his head in the right place. He's just _over his head_ because they announced him as a _possible_ candidate to run the company in the future and it _was not_ Mr. Stark, it was the press and Ms. Potts who gave him that title, _nobody else_. " Gwen explained quickly as she massaged Peter's back. " _You can't give up now,_ Peter, we're supporting you, you still need more answers and I'm sure you're going to get them, we're all here for you, _Ned, Harry, Betty, Me, and even MJ."_

 

Peter still didn't answer, it seemed as someone had turned _off the light_ that was inside him.

 

"And you must know that Mr. Stark is not the same man he was before. I've known the man for a short time but _he's not_ the same Tony Stark as before, I don't know if he pretended in front of the cameras to be a man with a perfect life and perfect balance but now, he always has a bottle of pills in his hands and sometimes his wife snatches them because the man _doesn't_ seem to want to **_stop_** taking them. He seems to _never_ sleep, _always_ being late and he _lets others_ make decisions for him all the time." Gwen told Peter everything she had observed. "I thought that having fought to bring back half of the universe had him in that state and maybe that's part of the reason, but _now_ ... I'm starting to see that possibly when he cut **_you_** ... off his life, **_he cut his too. "_**

 

Gwen didn't know how to explain it. She really didn't know if she was right but _there was something_ in the way Mr. Stark and Peter behaved that matched the attitudes they both presented. It was as if they had both _lost half their lives._

 

Peter simply listened with dry tears on his face, his heart too overused and tired. He didn't want any hope; He didn't want to hear _anything_ from the man. He just wanted to go home and sleep for _a very long time._

 

" _Now,_ you have a decision to make. You can go home and rest and never come back, find a way to overcome what happened and continue with your life, _no one_ is going to judge you or you can _fight and find your answers_ , ones that you clearly deserve more than _anyone else_ in this world. And so you'll be able to be at peace with yourself. _It's your choice_." The girl spoke kindly, leaving the decision to him. She was going to support him whatever decision he made. "I'll be in the hall for a moment, when you make your decision, come out, I'll wait for you."

 

Gwen got up from her chair to leave Peter alone in the dining room.

 

_The thing is_ , at the beginning, you actually don't get it when someone is broken beyond reason. The real _them_ arises when they're alone. He doesn't need to pretend he's _ok_ anymore, there's no one around him. And how do you find a way to heal a broken heart? _Making it feel alive again._

 

He turned his head to one of the cameras in the dining room. The one that has been moving since the minute he walked into the room.

 

"I _know_ you gave me access to the building, F.R.I.D.A.Y." Peter spoke in a low tone with dry throat "I know Ned is good but not that good to hack into the _biggest company in the world_."

 

_"You're welcome."_ The soft voice of the a.i. was heard.

 

“What should I do?" He thought maybe the a.i. was going to tell him the reasonable answer and ask him to leave. _It was for the best, anyways._

 

_"Save him and yourself."_ Peter frowned.

****

**_What?_ **

 

 

 

.


	3. House of memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the feedback and support! Means a lot to me, please suffer and enjoy with me ;)

.

 

 

 

 

"I _can't believe_ Peter is going through this ..." Ned said as he stared at his cup of ice cream in disbelief.

 

"I _can't believe_ Tony Stark would do this, I even liked him more than my dad and that's saying a **_lot_**." Harry commented from his seat in Ned's room.

 

" ** _I_** can't believe we're _still_ talking about this." In the corner of the room, MJ observed them with condescending manner.

 

"I _can't believe_ he was telling us the truth _all this time_ and _we didn't_ believe him." Betty added.

 

"I _can't believe_ you guys keep talking like **_this_**." Cindy responded with some exasperation. " _We have_ to support Peter and we can't do that if we keep drowning our sorrows in Ice cream and Netflix."

 

Ned looked up from his seat, Cindy was right but they really didn't know what else to do, the decision was in Peter's hands and they would've to accept whatever Peter decided.

 

"Let's say, _hypothetically_ , that the brat, _Harley_ , is the new heir of Stark industries. How is it possible that the press doesn't ask what happened to the previous candidate, _Peter_?" Uh. MJ was right. Why _didn't_ the press comment on that?

 

"Maybe because they painted him as a “ _candidate_ ”, not as the _future owner_. People just assumed that Stark Industries decided to go for someone else, which often happens in big companies." Harry _knew this_ more than anyone else, his father had tried to replace him as Oscorp's heir with someone else _at least a million times._

 

"But it doesn't make sense, _it's the press_ , they want to know _everything_ and _you know it_ , Harry." Betty argued. Something was _not_ right about this.

 

"Harry, are you sure you can't have your father's contacts give you an internship at Stark Industries?" Ned asked as he left the cup of Ice cream on the table.

 

"No. _I told you_ already, if my father ** _ever_** finds out I'm in the competition's territory, I could get Peter in trouble and Stark would've more chances of finding out Peter is in his company." Ned nodded. Harry was right, Norman Osborn would only make a _bigger mess._

 

"Maybe it's a question of-" Betty stopped when she was shushed by Cindy, the girl was pointing to _something_ on TV. Ned took the TV remote to turn up the volume. They all paid attention to the boy's picture on the screen.

 

"I'm Christine Everhart and I'll be presenting the _WHIH Newsfront_ of this week regarding "Stark's new protégé" _situation_." The blonde woman emphasized the last four words with some sarcasm in her voice.

 

"Is it _even legal_ for Tony Stark to have a protégé? The man can't even iron his own clothes." The other present, James Holland, commented with mockery.

 

Harry rolled his eyes. Ned was _not impressed._

 

"Following this week's news, _apparently_ Tony Stark still has a protégé after four months of announcing the candidate at a conference with the CEO of Stark Industries, _Ms. Potts_ , who was _quite_ enthusiastic while commenting animatedly on the new golden boy who is going to be the _pride_ of the future of the company. " Christine ignored her partner's comment to continue the news.

Cindy raised an eyebrow at the " _pride of the company_ " comment. Even MJ let out a snort.

 

"I _think_ she now bears the title of _Mrs. Stark_ , Christine, _don't_ forget that. This new kid must be something serious if the wife of the famous Tony Stark is having conferences about him." James corrected his co-worker with a condescending smile.

 

Christine smiled _tensely_ at the camera. "Of course, I just find it _more appropriate_ to name her with another title since Stark himself _hasn't s_ aid anything about his **_own_** wedding."

 

**_Wow._ **

 

_Even_ Ned cringed at the comment. But it was _true_ , Ms. Potts had been talking _nonstop_ about her wedding with Mr. Stark for months and the man himself didn't say anything about it. It was as if they had made the decision for him.

 

 Christine didn't let her partner respond and continued with a smile on her face. " _Continuing with the matter_ , it has recently been found that Stark's protégé; _Harley Keener_ , has an entertainment channel on the YouTube platform, where he tells his audience what his life as the new kid of the future is like."

 

" ** _WHAT?_** " Ned yelled as he got up.

 

"What's wrong, _Ned?"_ Betty got up with him.

 

"This guy is a ... _can't be_ ... This must be a joke, _no_ ..." Ned continued as he paced back and forth in his room.

 

"Hey, loser, _calm down_ and tell us what's going on." MJ snapped irritably.

 

" _Peter was doing that!_ Peter _had_ a YouTube channel where he documented his experiences as a _Spiderman, except_ without revealing his identity _but it's exactly the same!_ " Ned proclaimed with disgust. This new guy was getting on his nerves already.

 

_"What?"_

 

_"Are you serious?"_

 

_"Wow, I didn't see that coming."_

 

**_"Peter is Spiderman?!"_ **

 

Ned _cringed_ again, this time with regret.  _Oops._ He wasn't supposed to say that in front of _Cindy._

 

Everyone in the room looked at Cindy, _uncomfortably_. Cindy observed them all with indignation. _"Everyone knew except for me?!"_

 

"Yeah, _sorry,_ we were going to tell you but it really wasn't our decision, I discovered it by accident." Harry spoke with some regret. He had discovered Peter hiding the suit inside some box months ago.

 

Cindy watched the others while crossing her arms expectantly.

 

"Ned told me." Betty confessed while Ned let out a squeak.

 

"It was _more than obvious_ , I don't understand how you didn't see it before, that loser is really _bad_ at keeping secrets." MJ shrugged.

 

"This is ... _I can’t believe it!_ Peter is _Spiderman!_ ... **_My God_** , Liz was in love with Peter **_AND_** Spiderman?!" Cindy exclaimed with bewilderment, this is _really new_ information for her. Ned shushed her while gesturing wildly with his hands.

 

" _Shh!_ No one else knows so you have to keep the secret!" Ned proclaimed as he pointed with his index finger.

 

" _No one else knows?_ Are you serious, Ned? What about all _six_ of us? I'm assuming Gwen knows too so there are a lot of people who _do_ know." Cindy rolled her eyes, it was ridiculous. It was as if the entire academic decathlon team knew _except for Flash_ ; who was **_too_** in love with Spiderman to realize that Peter; the boy he bullies all the time, _is his hero._

 

"Yeah but that doesn't mean-" The door to Ned's room opened slowly.

 

"Edward, did you finish with your _"super-secret session"_ of friends? Hi, guys! I wanted to ask you if you were going to stay for dinner?" Ned's mom stuck her head out the door to watch the kids.

 

" ** _Mom!_** " Ned exclaimed embarrassed. "It's not a _"super-secret session!_ "

 

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Leeds, my mother would kill me if I'm not in time for dinner, maybe next time, thanks for the offer." Betty apologized as she searched for her coat in Ned's room. It was a _little_ late.

 

"It's okay, Betty, my husband can give you a ride home." The woman smiled kindly and then observed the others in the room. "What do you say, guys?

 

"I have to go too, my dad is waiting for me at home, thanks for the offer, Mrs. Leeds." Harry also went to collect his coat.

 

"I have to go too, thank you, Mrs. Leeds." Cindy smiled at her, only leaving MJ, who shrugged and answered. "I could use some food, thank you."

 

Ned sighed heavily. _This was a disaster._

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

"Keep up with the rest of the projects and go ahead with the ones you already have in mind, remember, you should impress the area manager to continue with your internship, I'm sure everyone here can do it." Mr. Khan is the Director of the Engineering Applications Department at Stark Industries and there were millions of reasons why impressing that woman is hard work. Peter had already impressed her before, there was only the problem that he had to prevent the woman from realizing it was him.

 

Peter massaged his forehead, _this was too much_. It's been two days and he had managed to keep his identity hidden without having a heart attack. The only reason he had managed to survive so far was because _F.R.I.D.A.Y._ seemed to have a lot of affection for him _and she protected him_ from certain occasions.

 

John, _one of the interns,_ asked how long they would've to finish the projects and when they could meet the director of the main area. While Mr. Khan explained stuff to them, Peter, leaning on the table, put his head on his hands. He had **_no_** interest in this. He had barely slept these days. His head maintained the constant pain that didn't allow him to concentrate. He was sure that a couple of days more and he would be dead.

 

He didn't understand anything. His broken heart didn't allow him to surrender because what F.R.I.D.A.Y. had told him was giving hopes. Well, at least what he had collected so far. Everyone had commented on how bad Mr. Stark was, how the man didn't even sleep, eat, and most people around him made the decisions of the company.

****

**_What happened?_** Peter tried _again and again_ to find the answer in his brain. Asking Mr. Stark's friends was out of the equation since all of them _had also cut_ Peter out of their lives. He also considered asking Mr. Strange since the man must've been the one that made the "spell". Peter really didn't know how but he knew that it _was him_ the one that erased his memory. It wasn't a good plan and there was nothing to assure him that Strange was going to answer his questions.

 

**_"You're thinking too loud."_ **

 

Peter jumped when he heard the voice and accidentally threw a couple of books on the floor causing the other interns to turn their heads towards him. Peter turned to his sides to try to find the owner of the voice _but found nothing._

 

"Everything alright, Mr. Parker?" Mr. Khan asked as he approached his table. Peter nodded quickly, still confused. " _Y-yes_ , I'm a little nervous about the projects, _it's all_."

 

"It's okay to be nervous, these things commonly happen all the time, don't worry, you're one of the best interns here, I'm sure you'll impress us." Mr. Khan gave the boy a friendly smile. Peter nodded gratefully.

 

_What the hell was that?_

 

Peter was sure it was Strange's voice. He was completely sure. He hadn't known the man for a long time but his voice was recognizable wherever he went.

 

Peter turned his head towards one of the cameras, lately, he and F.R.I.D.A.Y.  were a team but Peter hadn't stopped to think about Karen. Maybe Karen knew something that F.R.I.D.A.Y. couldn't tell him. Peter got up quickly and excused himself to go to the bathroom.

 

When he reached one of the farthest bathrooms of the building, he checked each stall to see if there was anyone else with him, when he found nothing, Peter turned his gaze back to the ceiling.

 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"

 

"Yes, Peter?" The a.i. He responded immediately.

 

"Is Karen still active in my suit?" He asked with some uncertainty, he wasn't sure what things the a.i. could share with him and what not.

 

"Nothing indicates the opposite." It was the cryptic response of the a.i.

 

Peter smiled slightly toward the ceiling. Huh.

 

"The central control room of Mr. Stark's private laboratory is still located in the same place?" Peter asked again as he played with the loose strands of his jacket.

 

"Yes." F.R.I.D.A.Y. sounded somewhat indecisive, if that was possible for an a.i.

 

"Okay." Peter smiled with amusement. Plan # 2? Find the way to enter the place without being found. Peter took out his phone and started writing his plan.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Tony woke to the sound of his alarm ringing in his room. _Damn._ His head was spinning. What time is it?

 

" _3:30 p.m_." The man was surprised to hear a female voice speak to him. " **Really** , _Tony,_ I thought this was going to end after a couple of months but _nothing_ is changing, you need to _recover_. I understand what happened months ago was a bit heavy but everyone is already moving on with their lives. Can _you_ do the same?". Pepper. It was his wife.

 

Tony let out a sigh as he was scrubbing his hand over his face trying to focus his eyes. _Wow_ , how _many_ pills had he taken last night?

 

Pepper watched Tony for a moment and then _resignedly_ sighed. "You're an _adult_ , Tony. _First_ , you were scared by what happened with the nuke back in 2012, it's a horrible experience and it's understandable that you felt anxious those days, _then_ you made your address public and you almost _killed us_. I remember you said you were going to _leave_ Iron Man aside for us but _you didn't_ , you proceeded to created, behind out backs _might I add_ , a robot that almost killed many innocent people in Sokovia, and you promised _me_ that the arc reactor in your chest was just to make sure there were no monsters hidden in the closet. _And then_ , you went to space to fight with an alien that almost destroyed half the universe. You gave up to being Iron Man, you have to put that life _behind you already_! You _can't_ live your whole life trying to _"overcome"_ your traumas, you have to overcome this _now_ and _move on_. "

 

Tony tried to listen to her but his ears kept blocking everything, he could only hear his wife's voice as if it were an echo.

 

Pepper shook her head, somewhat exasperated. "It's _amazing_ you're still doing this to _me_ after all _I've had_ to put up with you, you're _being selfish_ with me, you promised me a quiet life, _no_ superhero conflicts, _no_ Iron Man, _no_ monitoring any child who _thinks_ he's superhero. In fact, that thing of the _"Young Avengers"_ is disappointing, those children should be _studying_ , _educating themselves_ instead of playing at being superheroes and putting themselves in danger."

 

Tony couldn't hear her correctly. His head was _beginning_ to spin a little bit **_more._**

 

Pepper grabbed the glass of water next to the bedside table and handed it to her husband. Tony muttered a "thank you" and tried to regain his senses.

 

The truth was, _Tony didn't know what to do with his life now_. He felt _empty_ , without _purpose_ , without _life_. So _many_ experiences, so _many_ traumas had left him in a catatonic state _he couldn't leave._ He was barely conscious when people talked to him and on many occasions, he _simply_ pretended to listen to avoid conflicts.

"Your shrink wants to see you again this week, he says _you haven't been attending your psychotherapy sessions these last weeks_." Pepper reproached him. "Why didn't you tell me you haven't been going to see Dr. Jones? You're _my_ husband, you're supposed to share these things with me."

 

"Sorry, Pep, sometimes _it's a lot_ , sometimes _it's kind of tedious_ and _I_ _can't control it_." Tony confessed in a low voice. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint his wife.

 

"Tony, _you've gone_ to exposure therapy, cognitive restructuring therapy, you've talked to Sam _a lot of times_ , you've used BARF a _thousands of times_ , had stress-inoculation training, got medication _of all kinds_. What else do you need to heal yourself? How much longer _do you plan_ to be in this state? " She asked as tears approached her face. She was _disappointed_.

 

Tony closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't want to disappoint her. _But it was inevitable_. This is not an easy thing to do, he can't be cured _in just one day_. He was really trying _but it's difficult._

 

"Tony, _I don't think_ I can be married to a man who's going to be _sick_ for the rest of his life, _you have_ to recover, _I'm getting tired_." Pepper commented with frustration, trying to make him understand.

 

She looked around the room for a while and _stopped_ when she saw something that disappointed her _even more._ There were parts of an electronic device of some kind near the table in front of the closet. Pepper let out a gasp. There were tools beside the device.

 

_"Have you been tinkering?"_ The woman asked in a low tone, holding back.

 

Tony _cringed_ a little. He had forgotten about that project. He had lost track of time the night before that he forgot to take the little experiment to the lab.

 

"Yes, _I'm sorry_." He apologized while giving small massages to the back his head. "They help me concentrate, _some of my projects,_ I know I promised to put aside all the tinkering, the projects, build things but ... lately, _I need them,_ they help me a lot with the anxiety."

 

" _Concentrate?_ Really? _Why can't you concentrate on the important things?_ " Pepper left a tear out from anger she felt. "Yesterday I went to see a doctor, to see if everything was in order, for the plans _we made_ , _remember?_ A child, buy a house away from New York, live in _peace and tranquility_."

"I'm really sorry, honey." Tony apologized as he tried to hold back his own tears. I'm sorry I'm not enough. I'm sorry I'm not a complete man. I'm sorry I can't be in a more appropriate state of health. I'm sorry I can't remove my demons to be with you. I regret being mentally ill person and not being able to recover. I'm sorry I'm not man enough for you.

 

"Why instead of making excuses, you start to believe them yourself?" Tinker with that." She snapped angrily as she wiped the tears from her face and walked out of the room, she stopped before leaving the room. "I hope you're clean and ready for the executive dinner we have tonight with new interns."

 

Tony sighed heavily. He closed his eyes for a moment. The pills had managed to take away the pain in his right side a bit but he could still feel the knife entering his skin, the sharp pain entering him and-

 

No. He couldn't afford to think about that.

 

Now, he was safe and was going to save his marriage.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

**177A Bleecker Street, New York City, New York**

 

Peter was sure that this was the address. It had cost him _a lot_ to find it. Oh well. _Harry actually_ , his new stepmother is friends with one of Strange's former co-workers. Something about _Metro hospital_ or something like that. Peter had no idea but Harry had got him the address.

 

Peter stared at the wooden door for a second, somehow unsure of what to do. Maybe this is a mistake, maybe it _shouldn't have been so-_

 

The boy jumped a little when he saw that the door opened. Before Peter could turn and run in the opposite direction, _the door opened a little more._

 

"H-hello?" The web-slinger spoke while trying to see inside the place. _Suddenly,_ a red object opened the door completely, almost as if in exasperation.

 

Peter stopped, scared. He knew what that object was. He had seen it before. Strange called it the _“Cloak of levitation."_

 

" _H-hey_ , we met b-before, remember?" He wasn't sure how to address the levitating object but he was already there. He had to continue with the plan.

 

The cloak made a movement as if it were turning its head from side to side in _exacerbation_ and pointed to its right side.

 

Peter walked somewhat nervously inside the place, he wasn't sure _what was happening._

 

"Enough with that. You're scaring him." Peter turned his head to the right in time to see Doctor Stephen Strange himself walk towards him wearing a ... _robe? Pajamas? What was he wearing?_

 

"I believe the right term is _broadcloth robe_ but I'm not so sure ..." Strange answered his question while squinting and watching him patiently.

 

"Do you read minds?" It was the only thing that could come out of Peter's mouth.

 

Strange raised an eyebrow as he looked around as if to say _"Are you really asking me that?”_

 

"Ok, _silly question_ , I understand." The boy nodded as he uncomfortably looked around the place. His mind was _blank._

 

"Came to retrieve something important, _kid_?" He didn't know if it was because of the familiar nickname _"kid"_ or the suspicious way in which the man was looking at him but Peter began to feel his blood _boil._

 

" _Yep_. Something like that. Maybe you can help me out with this." He was beginning to remember everything again. Anger was coming in waves.

 

"Stop torturing yourself, kid. If you think too loud, you project _too loud_." Peter raised his head in realization. Then he was right, the voice he had heard that morning was Strange's.

 

"That was you! _I knew it!"_ Peter exclaimed as he looked at the man angrily. His breathing was doing horrible things to his anxiety.

 

Strange waited patiently for Peter to ask what he wanted to ask.

 

_"W-why?"_ Peter managed to let out after a few moments. Tears threatened to escape from his eyes.

 

The man sighed heavily as he seemed to think about the answer.

 

"So you managed to break the spell earlier than I thought." The man commented heavily. " _Quite impressive,_ Parker. That spell is very strong and only the strongest wills can break it."

 

Peter frowned and watched the man as if he had grown _an extra head._

 

"Why don't you take a sit and we can calmly discuss why it's _very unhealthy_ to walk around with that much anxiety with you." Peter blinked and was in a different place. It was like a bookstore but old, Really old. It looked like something out of a _"Narnia"_ movie.

 

"I _don't_ need your concern." Peter responded while wiping his tears with the sleeves of his jacket. He felt a soft touch on the back of his head and turned to see the cloak offering him _a piece of toilet paper._

 

" _Classy._ Toilet paper." Strange muttered sarcastically.

 

Peter took the paper out of courtesy. "Thanks."

 

"Listen, kid, you've been projecting too loud over the past few weeks. I thought you were going to be ok after what happened but ... "The man paused a moment to analyze the boy's face. _"It's not working out, you're still there."_

 

"I'm still _where?"_ Peter asked. There was something of all this that he was not liking. The nausea was beginning to make itself present.

 

"You're still stuck with the rest, your soul hasn't healed yet and given the circumstances you were put in, I have a feeling that's not helping too much." _You don't say_ , Peter wanted to say.

"I mean; you might as well _say_ it."

_Peter snorted._

 

"I don't know what you're talking about but I came here for different answers, and I need you to explain everything because _I don't understand anything_." Peter explained with frustration in his voice. _He was **so** tired of everything._

 

Strange pointed with his eyes at Peter's side, as the boy turned, he noticed a book levitating towards him.

 

"What is this?" The boy asked.

_"Your answers."_ The man replied. "I'm risking myself a little bit here. Stark might be retired but we're talking about _you_. When it comes to ** _you_** , _everything changes for the man."_

 

Peter swallowed hard as he felt his heart pounding. _"What?"_

 

Strange smirked. " _C'mon,_ kid. You're _too_ smart to play dumb. You know that _"retirement"_ is not going to matter to Stark the minute he realizes you're in danger."

 

Peter felt _a hole_ in his stomach. Why _couldn't_ he stop crying? _Damn it._ Once again everything was starting to get horrible.

 

_"Then why?"_ he sounded like a little boy but didn't care.

 

"Excuse me but isn't his life mission to _protect you_ or something like that? I was given the impression that _you already knew that_." The sarcasm in which the ex-surgeon spoke made Peter more anxious.

 

" _Life mission?"_ Peter was lost. He didn't understand what Strange was talking about.

 

The man rolled his eyes in a funny way. "So he decided _not_ to tell you anything? Is this avoidance of acknowledgment for _deep paternal feelings_ something that happens on a daily basis with you and him? I distinctly remember giving him exactly thirty minutes to explain the situation to you."

 

Peter simply devoted himself to watch man with _deep_ conflict in his heart.

 

"Peter, balance and people are _interconnected_. One can't work _without_ the other. When someone emphasize the outsize significance of minute occurrences this can end with profound and widely divergent effects on the system’s outcomes. While, the earth can influence many different types of energies, _unpredictability has no place in the universe_ and a tiny change can throw off _all results_."

 

_"Are you saying that-"_

 

"Someone made _a_ _mistake_ and _you_ got the short end of the stick."

 

Peter's heart _stopped_ for a second.

 

" _W-who?_ And what was that mistake?"

 

"Sorry. _No can do._ Unfortunately, until that person decides to come forward I can't do much for you or Stark. Keep in mind that this in not in my control and that I should allow the earth to follow its course."

 

See, _the thing is_ , Peter understands what Strange is saying, or at least only a portion of what he is talking about but there is something that is _not right about this._

 

"Why did they allow you to _interfere the other times and not now_?" Strange smirked.

 

"Smart kid, I can see why Stark is _so_ devoted to you."

 

Peter felt a _pang_ in his heart.

 

“The behavior of the atmosphere was unstable back then in Titan so I tried _many solutions_ and at the end, _I only saw one way._ I briefly diverged this complexity by tricking time and space _for a while_ but then _this energy came_ with an overwhelming desire that earth _didn't allow_ , of course, given the situation all of us were in and no matter how human the emotion was, in the long run, sequences were _inevitable.”_

 

Peter was practically _inhaling and exhaling_ anxiety. His hands trembled. This was serious, something he couldn't control. Something that even Doctor Strange couldn't solve.

 

" _So, is it someone I know?_ Someone who doesn't like me or something?" The boy tried to ask.

 

" _I said_ that you got the short end of the stick _not that_ you were the _only one_ that got hurt." Strange explained. "Many people suffered from this mistake and many other mistakes, every person around the universe had to at least have made one mistake _out of desperation_ at that time and that caused _some consequences_ in someone else, _in your case_ , someone made a mistake for you and _you paid for that result._ "

 

Peter closed his eyes for a moment. The snap had more consequences than he had thought. It wasn't so simple to simply give life back to a billion people _, huh._

 

" _In conclusion,_ as long as the universe doesn't follow its natural course and this person continues with _this pretentions_ , you have no choice but _to wait."_ The man finished. Snapping his fingers, a cup of tea was present at his side.

 

"Tea? _If not_ , you can let yourself out."

 

Peter blinked as he shook his head. "N-no, thank you, by the way, for this, _the explanation, I mean-"_

 

"Goodbye, Parker." In the blink of an eye, Peter was outside, on the street.

****

**_Well. Shit_ **

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Tony had been trying for thirty minutes to fix his tie, _it was the best he could do._ _F.R.I.D.A.Y’s taste in background music?_ Not the best she could do.

 

_I don't want to be afraid_

_The deeper that I go_

_It takes my breath away_

He didn't look _as Gucci as ever_ but he was clean enough to hear a couple of kids talk about their future in the company.

 

"How do I look F.R.I.D.A.Y?"

 

"Terrible." _Ouch._ But at least she was being honest.

 

"I was waiting for that answer."

 

"Of course you were, sir."

 

_Sassy._

 

_Soft hearts electric souls_

_Heart to heart and eyes to eyes_

_Is this taboo?_

 

"Ok, I promised Pepper to at least remember the name of these kids, give me something, Fri." Tony ordered while looking for a pair of glasses that combined with his style of lazy man fresh out of rehabilitation.

 

"Yes, Mr. Genji Cho, 17, niece of the world-renowned geneticist, _Dr. Helen Cho_." Tony raised an eyebrow, _wow._ He didn't know Helen had a niece.

 

"I know my company is good but why didn't the girl apply to her aunt's company? I'm sure Helen would want her to be in the same labs as her."

 

"I don't have any record or data related to this topic."

 

_Huh._ Maybe the girl was interested in learning other things.

 

_"Thank you, next."_

 

F.R.I.D.A.Y. continued with the list of the interns until finally getting to the last four. "Tyson Tadeu 17. Ivanka Kirilenko 17. Elizabeth Toomes 19. -" **_Wait._**

 

"Toomes' daughter?" Tony felt _something_ stir inside him.

 

"Yes, sir."

 

The girl wasn't to be blamed for what happened with her father. She was innocent in all this and deserved an opportunity for her future. Tony nodded. _"Next."_

 

F.R.I.D.A.Y. remained silent for a few moments.

 

"Fri?" Tony called.

_"The list is over."_

 

Tony frowned, he had been counting and was sure that Pepper always _approved 10 students._

 

"Are you sure?" Pep mentioned that she approved ten students and this has always been the policy of the company, 10 students. "

 

_"I'm sure."_

 

Okay. Something was wrong. Maybe the last student decided to retire at the last moment and that is why F.RI.D.A.Y. had no data collection of the student. But it wouldn't make sense either because he programmed her to inform him all kinds of information, new or old, classified or unclassified.

 

Tony thought about enough possibilities or maybe it was his paranoid brain _playing tricks again._

 

He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. _It was Pepper._ The following message confirmed the doubts he had a few minutes ago.

 

**_"Message:_ **

****

**_Saturday, 7:30 p.m._ **

**_Pepper Potts:_ **

****

**_Hope you're ready when I get there. Leave the pills on the house, Tony. I'm serious._ **

****

**_I also hope you learned the names of all of the 10 kids, it's the least you can do. "_ **

 

_Tony's heart skipped a beat._ Something was not right.

 

_Baby we built this house_

_On memories_

_Take my picture now_

 

_"F.R.I.D.A.Y."_ Tony called in a serious tone.

 

"Sir?" _It was possible for an a.i. to sound nervous?_

 

"Why _aren't_ you giving me the last student's information?" His voice didn't give space for excuses.

 

"I don't understand the information you're asking me, boss."

 

"You _damn well_ understand what I'm talking about. If in the next 5 seconds you don't give me the name of the last kid, I'm going to reprogram you F.R.I.D.A.Y. Systemic reprogramming, _top to bottom until I find out what you're hiding from me. "_

 

_Shake it til you see it_

_And when your fantasies_

 

The silence of the a.i. was worrying _. Quite a lot._

 

" _Jesus,_ fri, you're scaring me. _Cut me some slack_ , would you? I'm just trying to be careful while I'm not under the influence of some antidepressant. _Help an old man with heart problems._ ” He was trying to be _patient_ with his own creation, to understand why F.R.I.D.A.Y. would refuse to correspond to one of his orders _and since when-_

 

**_Tony stopped breathing_** for a moment. He knew this feeling. **_No._** _It was impossible._

 

Totally impossible and it shouldn't even be a possibility that he should be contemplating.

****

**_No._ **

 

Tony ran to the central control room of his private laboratory with a sinking feeling in his heart.

_Become your legacy_

_Promise me a place_

_In your house of memories_

 

 

 

 

_._


	4. What love is worth in a broken world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the grammar. I wrote this yesterday instead of sleeping and I finished today. Enjoy! ;)

.

 

 

 

 

 

Pepper looked at her watch for what seemed to be the fourteenth time in the same night. _Where the hell was he?_

 

"I'm sorry, kids, he's almost never late to these dinners. I don't understand why he is taking so long today." Pepper watched the interns at the table, all dressed formally, eagerly waiting to finally meet Tony Stark himself.

 

"Oh, no problem, Mrs. Stark, we're also waiting for one of our interns, he is usually quite punctual too, but I think the traffic is very complicated today." Mr. Khan explained with a kind smile.

 

Pepper nodded politely, her gaze flicking over each of the interns as they pretended to look somewhere else instead of her gaze; a sign of nervousness. Pepper smiled.

 

"No problem, I'm sure that with how much they work every day are allowed to take a little for a dinner." She assured him as she went back to check her cell phone. No text messages, no signal from her husband.

 

"Excuse me, madam, I know we promised to wait long enough for you and your company but the maitre d 'asked if you'd reconsider maybe coming another time?" Pepper blinked. It was impossible that they were saying that to her. It was as if ...

 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm late, I know, there's no reason to reconsider, pal. I'm Tony Stark, look _who_ you're talking to." When he arrived at the table agitatedly, Tony patted the waiter on the shoulder as he lowered his glasses a little to see his face.

 

"Of course, sir." The waiter agreed when he looked at the man.

 

Pepper watched the waiter for a few seconds. She wasn't going to make a commotion just for minor details.

 

"Wow, what do we have here! Our new group of geniuses that will help the company have a better future." Tony watched the interns one by one as he got up to shake each one's hand. All of the interns looked excited to finally get to know the man himself. Mr. Khan, however, could notice that something was wrong with his boss. He looked pale, as if he sweating cold, his eyes were extremely open and his lips dry. Something had definitely happened before coming to the restaurant.

 

Pepper could notice it too. She exchanged glances with Mr. Khan. She tried to disguise it and pretended that everything was fine, they couldn't afford to lose reputation just because Tony was nervous.

 

"Thanks for coming, guys, it's an honor to have you here to discuss your internship plans." Pepper watched the boys as Tony took a seat next to her. "And I think we should order, one of his interns couldn't attend the evening, however, it would have been a pleasure to meet him."

 

"You're right, and you're lucky you're going to meet him, I sent Happy to personally go and bring him here." Tony commented in a smooth way. _Something cryptic._ The man had his jaw so tight that it looked like his teeth were going to break.

 

Pepper, still with her smile in place, turned to observe her husband, asking for an explanation. Tony ignored her.

 

"But you're right, we must order! You kids can order whatever you want, dinner is on me." Tony pretended everything was fine as he shakily grabbed one of the menus from the table.

 

The other interns pretended not to notice how affected their boss was and they started looking for options on the menu.

 

Pepper continued to watch Tony, as if she didn't recognize him. _Something was wrong._

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Damn it. Unbelievable." Happy cursed under his breath as he waited outside the boy's house. He didn't understand why Tony couldn't have gone himself. Who was this boy that was so important?

 

The door opened suddenly, revealing the figure of a fairly familiar boy. Happy froze for a few seconds, watching the boy from head to toe and then see the streets of the place. They looked familiar.

 

"Wha- ... but ... I-I think- what?" Ned, in a state of panic, observed Happy with surprise. Ned knew who this man was, despite not remembering much of what Peter had confessed recently, Ned knew that this man was one of Mr. Stark's the closest friends. **_Oh.-_** Wait. Had they discovered Peter and that was why he was there?

 

Happy was just as confused. The deal was supposed to be ... it was impossible ... why had Tony sent him to bring one of the kids? _Especially this guy._

 

"Ok, kid, I'm going to ask this once. Why did my boss send me to pick you up and take you to the intern’s dinner?" Happy watched him with a serious expression. Something was wrong.

 

Ned swallowed hard. His hands were beginning to sweat. He really didn't know what to answer. Where was Peter? The plan was supposed to reprogram F.R.I.D.A.Y. so there was no record of Peter's internship in the company. This was Peter's last day in his internship, he was going to send the resignation letter later today and in the morning, the company would already be aware of this, however, without the boy's records. They were supposed to spy on them from afar, with Gwen supporting them. _He didn't understand anything._

 

"I asked you something, _kid_." Happy spoke again, his voice dreadful.

 

Ned quickly nodded in panic. "I-I'm supposed to help in the restaurant!"

 

**_What. The. Fuck._ **

 

Ned wanted to hit himself against the wall. Repeatedly. Why did he say that? God, Happy was looking at him confusion on his face.

 

Happy was going to kill him. He was sure.

 

"Ah, ok ..." What? The man was skeptical but he seemed to believe him. Happy really believed it was a coincidence, maybe the boss was sending him to do the same errands he before and after the whole... mess.

 

" _O-ok_?" Ned questioned in a high-pitched voice.

 

"Yes. Ok. Now, don't waste time. Are you a waiter or do you wash dishes there? Actually, I don't really care, just hurry up and get in the car, we don't have all night." Happy turned around and started walking towards the car.

 

Ned nodded as he closed the door of his house. He didn't know exactly what he was doing or why Happy had believed him so easily but if he had to distract the man to give Peter time, he would.

 

Upon entering the car, Ned watched Happy through the rear-view mirror. "It's at the Bradshaw Palace, right?"

 

Happy frowned, Bradshaw Palace? Hadn't Tony said it was at the Woodridge Palace? "What? No, the boss said another restaurant."

 

Ned pretended to be equally confused. "But _I_ work at the Bradshaw Palace ..."

 

Happy was in conflict. Maybe he should call the boss to confirm-

 

"Do you think your boss would've sent you to come and get me if I didn't know what restaurant I work in?"

 

Happy watched him for a few seconds and then shrugged and nodded. "Makes sense _, I guess."_

 

_Ten points for the guy in the chair._

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

_And I put my heart back together_

_Yeah I put my heart back together_

 

"Yes, I think it's great that you have those plans, Genji, your aunt is a very successful woman, we are very grateful we have your talent in our company." Pepper praised the girl while stirring with her fork the food in her plate. Genji smiled politely.

 

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Stark." The girl responded gratefully.

 

Pepper smiled kindly in return. She could feel a headache approaching her, maybe from dealing with Tony so much. Sometimes, she wondered why she was dealing with so much. She was going to say something when the waiter interrupted.

 

"Should I assume that your other company wasn't able to attend the dinner? If that's the case, then we should-..."

 

"It will not be necessary, _thank you_ , sir." The whole table was _silent._

 

_Now I know what love is worth in a broken world_

_But I can't get past the hurt_

 

Tony felt as if his heart had **stopped** and he was tearing himself apart as he watched the boy standing in front of them with a confidence he had never seen. _His hands trembled uncontrollably_ , he felt his throat close. Sweat was beginning to reach his eyes.

 

_Confidently,_ Peter grabbed one of the napkins and took a seat as he searched for one of the menus without taking his eyes off the owners of Stark Industries.

 

"What's good on the menu?" The boy asked with some sarcasm in his voice. His voice sounded forced, but he definitely _wasn't_ going to stutter in front of them.

_Never again. Not after everything. Not after the truth._

 

He already had his answers and he was going to _recover his life._

_Til I give up on these stupid little things_

_I'm so hung up on these stupid little things_

 

Pepper was pale, she didn't know what to do. She always had the initiative to solve any problem, _for God's sake_ , she was the CEO of Stark Industries, she isn't supposed to freeze. The blood was beginning to get cold in her body and she was trying to blink without letting the tears come out. Her lower lip trembled slightly.

 

Tony couldn't take his eyes off the boy. _The man was going to faint or was going to have a heart attack at any minute._

 

_What was happening?_

 

Happy was supposed to bring _Ned_. F.R.I.D.A.Y. had identified the last intern and _it was Ned_. His a.i. would never lie to him ... _Right?_

_That keep me from you_

 

Mr. Khan observed with confusion the palpable and overwhelming tension on the table and immediately tried to calm the situation. "Mr. Parker! We're glad you were able to join us tonight, we were worried you couldn't make it."

 

" _Why wouldn't I come?_ I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world, it's my future, anyway ..." The boy commented in a light voice. He couldn't believe the trust and confidence he was speaking with but he didn't care, he was already there and had backup. He couldn't disappoint them, or himself.

 

To say that the other interns were confused was an understatement. Nobody knew what was happening or why _two of the most powerful people_ in the world were so perplexed to see one intern.

 

"I recommend the lamb salad with Fregola, the roast lamb, the sweet onions and arugula are all local." The waiter recommended calmly but not before sending a look of complicity to Peter. Peter returned the conspiratorial smile. Betty's cousin's friend was a waiter at the restaurant and it was very convenient.

 

"It sounds amazing but I think I'll go with the chicken burger with bacon, Martin, thank you very much." Peter gave him the menu kindly while concentrating all his senses so his nerves _wouldn't_ betray him.

 

Martin looked at him amused as he nodded and retreated.

 

"I also ordered the hamburger, it's very good, Peter. Excellent choice, man." One of the interns; Tyson, said while trying to disperse the uncomfortable environment that had been created.

 

Tony began to try to control his breathing as discreetly as he could but it wasn't working, so without preamble he took out one of his pill bottles and without discretion he took one in front of the interns without caring about the fulminating look that Pepper was trying to send him.

 

"Oh, are you okay, Mr. Stark?" Mr. Khan asked as he grabbed a glass of water in front of him to pass it on to his boss.

 

Tony didn't bother answering or accepting the water, he tried to control his breathing as he brought one of his trembling hands to his chest, he could feel the vibranium metal of the arc reactor vibrate along with the strong beating of his heart. He kept swallowing with hopes that the anxiety would go away and allow him to talk. _But it was impossible._

 

His blood alternated between cold and hot, his thoughts between confusion and pain. Deep pain _. That pain_ that kept him with pill bottles in his jackets, with tranquilizers in the pockets of his pants. Constant nights without sleep. Months without eating.

 

His left arm was starting to hurt. This was _the source_ of his pain and he couldn't even calm down to confront it.

 

"Mr. Stark, should we call an ambulance?" Mr. Khan said as calmly as possible, trying not to alarm his interns; who were alternating their gaze between their plates and Iron Man.

 

"That will not be necessary, Khan, but thanks." Pepper answered in a tense voice. She was also trying to calm down.

 

Peter _, for his part_ , pretended not to notice the situation while playing with his phone under the table. His heart was beginning to beat strongly but he had all his will in concentrating and _not_ letting his senses take control.

 

"But I think-" Mr. Khan fell silent as he was stopped by Pepper's expression of reproach and anger.

 

Long minutes passed and the table was silent. It was the most uncomfortable moment in the lives of those interns but nobody dared to speak or murmur something. They could hear Mr. Stark's forced breathing and how Pepper Potts tried to keep her trembling hands in control. The woman was trying so hard to smile but it ended up coming out more like a grimace, _so it was not working._

 

Seconds later they were saved by the waiter with Peter's order.

 

"Chicken burger with bacon." The man announced as he left the plate on the table and offered a sympathetic smile to Peter.

 

"Thanks, _Martin_."

 

"At your service, _Peter_." Martin left. Pepper turned to see the waiter leave the table with a frown. How did that guy know the kid's name? She then directed her gaze to Peter, _inspecting him._

 

He looked at her too, with an innocent smile. _Very innocent._

 

"Bon appetit, Peter." Genji offered softly, she wasn’t sure she could talk without causing commotion.

 

"Thanks, Gen."

 

_Gen?_ Pepper was still confused; indignation was all over her face.

 

Tony looked up at Peter with red eyes, there were no tears but there were definitely going to be any minute. _He was begging him to stop._

 

"Something wrong, sir?" Tony let out a gasp.

 

**_Ouch._ **

 

Peter knew how much Tony hated when he called him " _Sir."_

 

This was the first time Peter spoke to him and it had hurt. _Too much._ Enough actually.

 

Tony couldn't answer, he kept looking at the boy in front of him. _Bambi brown eyes, adorable cheeks, big brain, curls in place and innocent face._

 

Everything was there, just as Tony remembered it, however, his attitude was something new. He was aware that Peter had somehow managed to remember. He didn't know how but he was aware of that at least. He was going to take the liberty of breaking _Strange's clown face_ in the _damn_ Sactum and destroy all the programming of his a.i. but now, _right now,_ he couldn't move or do anything of the sort even if he wanted to.

 

Peter _didn't_ look down. It was clearly written on his face.

 

**_It's on._ **

 

Tony felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time, something _inside him_ woke up. That little pinprick of parental annoyance, that little anger when Peter disobeyed him or challenged him. It was slight but he could feel it coming back.

 

The spiderling wanted a challenge? _Tony was going to give it to him._

 

With all his practice of years and years of pretending in front of the cameras, he managed to form his first words to the boy "Actually, _yes_."

 

Peter shook his head so fast he felt it gave him whiplash. _Did Tony talk to him?_

 

"I had some doubts ..." The man said with difficulty. He wanted to look strong and imposing and the only reason he was halfway accomplishing it was because of his fatherly sense of keeping his kid in place. "Why don't you tell us about you, _Peter?_

****

**_Peter._ **

 

Did he say Peter? _Peter._

 

Pepper looked at him surprised. _Had he lost his mind?_

 

Everyone at the table turned his head towards Peter. The boy swallowed hard. Mr. Stark was playing dirty; he knew that Peter hated being _the center of attention._

 

But Peter wasn't going to give up. "What do you want to know about me?"

 

"Oh, _I don't know,_ where you come from, how old are you, what are your plans for college, what university are you going to go to, how did you get the internship ... much more." He knew he was rambling and, a certain part was of the nervousness he felt. _The other part?_ The incessant fatherly need to genuinely know what his kid's plans for his future would be.

 

Peter watched him in silence for a few seconds. "Queens, Eighteen. Undergraduate program at MIT with double majors in Biomedical engineering and Electrical engineering. I got it thanks to my excellent grades and previous records." He responded without losing a beat, emphasizing the word "previous records". Still looking at Tony.

 

_"I wanted you to be better."_

 

Tony watched him for a few moments, with an immensity of pride and satisfaction. He knew that this was never going to go away every time he looked at Peter. _It was inevitable._

 

The people at the table were alternating their gaze between Tony and Peter, _like a tennis match._

 

"Previous records? What previous records?" Tony's eyes shone with something Peter couldn't identify but if the old man wanted him to say it, _he was going to say it._

 

" _Yep_ , some time ago, I got an internship in a company and I used to get along pretty well with the o-owner of the company. I had many opportunities to carry out many projects that helped me with my extracurricular activities." Peter commented casually, something inside him was beginning to break but he wasn't going to let it beat him. "I liked him a lot, we had a good relationship, there was trust but unfortunately I couldn't work there anymore _because I got bored_."

 

**_Ouch._** Again This time it hurt more.

 

Tony nodded curtly, as if someone had slapped him. _Be careful with your old man's heart, Peter, you can kill me if you continue,_ Tony thought as he looked back at him.

 

"Wow, Peter! You never told us any of that! Good for you!" Mr. Khan congratulated the boy quite impressed. He obviously was never going to say that the company was Stark Industries but the compliments from his co-workers _were well received._

 

"I think it's about time we leave, _it's getting late_." Pepper commented after a few minutes. The woman seemed to carry herself around with anger and disappointment in her.

 

"But Peter hasn't finished his burger and he just arrived, shouldn't we let him finish?" Mr. Khan interrupted with as much politeness as he could muster. He didn't want to get into trouble but the boy had just arrived, it wasn't going to be difficult to wait for him to finish eating.

 

Pepper slowly turned her gaze to Mr. Khan, he didn't know why but it seemed his comment had annoyed her. She raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Khan, I thank you with all my heart your concern for one of our interns, but my husband needs to go to rest after a long evening and would appreciate if his intern would ask for a box to take the food and enjoy it later. It must be cold anyways. "

 

"No, Pep, let the kid finish eating, it'll only be a few seconds; kids his age eat like a cow." Ha. Peter tried hard not to laugh but the corners of his lips rose a little. _A little_ , nothing more. Enough for Tony to notice and let out a faint smile on his own.

 

Pepper watched him with indignation, something in her face was telling him she didn't completely agree with his decision. "Tony, honey, _I think it's time to go_. Remember, you _promised_ your specialist to go to bed early." She tried to be as kind as possible but it was becoming difficult under the circumstances.

 

Peter looked up at the word " _specialist."_ _So_ F.R.I.D.A.Y. hadn't been exaggerating the situation ...

 

While Mr. Khan wasn't so close with the owners of the company and considering these dinners were scheduled twice a year, he didn't have much knowledge in the dynamics of the owners but he could totally notice the change in Mr. Stark. For months, the man was a complete disaster. He seemed like a homeless person who simply existed and nothing seemed to motivate him. Today, however, something had changed, his attitude was not so dry and his attitude wasn't that of a dead man.

 

What he saw today at the table motivated him to respond to his own boss. "Mrs. Stark, is it really necessary that we leave the table at this moment? Mr. Stark said it himself, it's only going to be a few minutes." Peter knew that the man was sacrificing his work for him and in typical Parker style, _he wasn't going to let that happen._

"It's really not a problem, Mr. Khan, I just wanted to meet them, and now that I did, we can all go home, I can eat at home later."

 

" _Eat_ , kid, we're not going to die just for waiting for you." Tony commented again. _It was incredible._ The man didn't look _anything_ like Peter had seen him hours ago, weeks ago, months ago. Now, he looked like the man he was used to seeing before. He wanted to hope and say that he was the reason for that change but he wasn't going to be _so naive._

 

"Ms. Potts is right, the food is already cold, it's better to eat at home." Peter refused while avoiding the gaze of others at the table.

 

"It's _Mrs. Stark_ now." Peter was surprised, the woman had never spoken to him like that, even when he arrived at the table, she hadn't spoken to him. It must be part of what he discovered.

 

"Yes, of course, I’m sorry." Peter murmured with some regret while receiving looks of sympathy from the others. He got up from his seat, causing others to do the same. By the time everyone was preparing to leave and started saying goodbye, Peter felt someone approaching him. Of course it was Tony. His spidey senses were never able to alert him of Tony's presence, because _with Tony_ , he _always felt safe,_ no matter what. That, or maybe his spidey-sense knew that Tony was never going to hurt him. _At least physically._

 

"Hey." Tony didn't really know what he was going to say or what he was going to do, he just knew he didn't want the kid to leave. And this was the problem to begin with, with Peter, he could always be who he really was. he didn't need to put on a mask and pretend, didn't need to use pills to trick the pain, didn't have to pretend at all. And he had been pretending so for long to be okay that giving his heart a break for a day wasn't going to hurt him.

 

"Hey." Peter, however, wasn't going to forget _so easily_ what happened. _The anger, the betrayal, the pain, everything was still there_. He felt his eyes begin to wet without his will. He didn't want to cry in front of him and he was not going to do it. **_Nope_**

 

Tony still _couldn't believe_ he was in front of the kid. _His kid_. He had missed him **_so_** much, he wanted to hug him. He looked at him as if he was a miracle. _And he was_. He thought he would never see him again. Maybe he was going to frequent the aerospace department more often. _Huh._ So he had chosen the place he least frequented, _smart boy_. This was good, he felt alive again, the anxiety was still there, running through his veins, not letting him escape but this, this boy in front of him, _was like a cure for that._

 

"I already sent my resignation letter to the mail today, it was a pleasure to work with you for as long as I could." Tony felt like someone had thrown a _bucket_ of cold water on him.

 

" _W-what_ , but you just got it, kid ... what-" Tony muttered with some bewilderment. His heart was beating rapidly.

 

"I _don't_ want to continue working for you. **_Oscorp_** is going to receive me the next month in the engineering department." Peter knew he was lying and Harry was going to kill him but he wanted his former mentor / ex-father figure to feel what he felt. All the torment that happened and all the times he felt the disappointment go through his veins. Even if he knew a lot more than the truth now, _he wasn't going to interfere anymore._

 

Tony looked away from the boy, this time felt like a _slap given with a brick_. He tried to blink back the tears so as not to let them out but a rebel one managed to escape. **_Wow._** That had hurt. Actually, _it hurt too much._ He was _tired._ He was _sick_ of the whole situation. He wanted to be _selfish_ at least today.

 

" _You **can't** go_." Peter raised his head to watch him with surprise.

 

" _What?"_

 

"I said you can't go, you have a contract with my company and if I remember correctly, you must stay in it for at least three months to be able to leave." _Ok, now it was Tony's turn to lie._

 

Peter grimaced as he watched the man, "It's not true, I read the contract and none of this was mentioned there."

 

Although his heart was _dancing_ with happiness inside, he was not going to fall into this again. He only came in for answers and he got them, _it was time to get over it._

 

Tony raised an eyebrow, pretending to think about it. "I don't think they gave you the _official_ contract then."

 

Peter was going to ask a couple more questions _but he was interrupted._

 

"Honey, it's time to go. Pepper walked until he got to Tony's side. She watched Peter for a second and then nodded slightly in _farewell manner._

 

Peter simply watched her.

 

"Well, kid, you know, the contract, _rules are rules_." Tony left the cryptic response so that his wife didn't suspect and then turned around and started walking out of the restaurant with _a stiff pace._

 

Peter stayed in his place for a few seconds, confused. Really confused. What the hell was going on? _What contract was-_

****

**_Oh_ **

 

Peter tried to contain the small smile that was trying to get out of his face _but he couldn't_. He knew he was going to quit today anyway, but at least this time he received a farewell. At least Ned would stop bothering him-

 

_Ned._

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Happy, you just have to go to the left, it's not that difficult-"

 

"For you, I'm Mr. Hogan, don't be disrespectful, kid because-"

 

"Turn left, I'm sure it's the restaurant-"

 

"Shut up, you've had me hanging around for two hours and I'm sure I'll be fired-"

 

"It's on the left, I'm sure this time."

 

Happy paused to look at the kid. _Was it really going to be bad if he murdered this boy and threw him in a garbage can outside the city?_

 

"What's wrong, _Hap_?" Ned gave him a peace sign with his hand and Happy was tempted to carry out with the murder.

 

" _Shut up_ and let me concentrate, I don't know where are we and I need to check the GPS to get out of here." The man spoke with exasperation. Ned smiled amused. Two hours _quite entertaining._

 

"Well, as I was saying, I think the last two movies-"

 

" _Shut up."_

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

When he got home, Peter found a note stuck in the refrigerator.

 

_"I hope you had fun at dinner, honey._

_If you are reading this I couldn't wait for you and I fell asleep but when you arrive, you let me know. xoxo May."_

 

Peter walked to the living room and his aunt was lying on the sofa with her mouth open. Snoring. Peter huffed.

 

He decided to let his aunt rest and went to his room to finally send the letter of resignation to the company, he had written it yesterday but he decided to attend the dinner on an impulse. It had gone well, the face of Mr. Stark and Mrs. Stark had been funny.

 

He was beginning to feel the depression returning to him, he knew he wanted to stay and fight, but he was really hurting himself. he couldn't continue doing that. He couldn't continue with this. So he had to stay away, for his sake and Mr. Stark's.

 

When sending the letter, Peter felt the tears begin to accumulate in his eyes but at that very moment, his spidey sense warned him of something. Peter turned his head to find a boy standing in the middle of his room. Watching him with a calculating look.

**_Holy fuck._ **

 

Why hadn't his spidey sense alerted him of the intruder before?

 

"Peter Parker. My name is Ezekiel Stane and I'm here for my price." Before Peter could respond he felt his spider sense alert him of something else. He turned his head up and in horror, he noticed the bomb that was attached to the ceiling.

 

"Oh, God ..." Peter watched in terror at the bomb, it had a picture of someone near the timer screen.

 

"You are welcome." The boy; Ezequiel, ran to the window and with a strange device, managed to escape. Peter had let him go, because he had a bigger problem and if he wasn't wrong-

 

He walked into the room, and evidently, on the roof, there was also another bomb, with a timer. He entered the bathroom and there was also another one. The kitchen too. Everywhere. The countdown started. Strange had warned him.

 

 

 

 

 

.


	5. Anything for you, part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Thanks for all the support! ;) Please suffer with me.

 .

 

 

 

 

 

Peter watched the ashes that were in his hand with attention. He was sure it had been hours and he still didn't understand exactly what had happened. He kept repeating the events of the previous _night over and over again._

 

"I know it's interesting to see non-aqueous, non-gaseous waste paint your hand but you should be resting, _Peter_." Bruce smiled kindly from his seat.

 

Peter looked up and blinked. _Oh, right. He was at the Med-Bay, Avengers' Compound. New York, Upstate._

 

_Right._

_Of course._

 

"I know what happened last night was quite heavy but I need to monitor some reactions of your body due to the shock and for that, you need to be relaxed and you are not." The man spoke sympathetically while watching some monitors and typing some things on his tablet.

 

Peter watched him for a few seconds. He wasn't responding well and he knew it but he still couldn't process everything that happened.

 

Bruce raised his head to watch the boy patiently. _"Peter."_

 

Peter rolled his eyes and then laid his head back on the pillow.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

" _May! Get up! May!_ " The boy was screaming. alarmed, while trying to find an alternative to deactivate one of the bombs. He knew that going with his aunt and leaving the other inhabitants of the place wasn't an option but May could escape in case he failed.

 

After screaming a couple of times more Peter watched as his aunt woke up and watched in horror as his nephew was glued to the wall trying to defuse a bomb.

 

"P-peter ... _What's going on?_ " Her aunt was so pale that he was afraid the woman would faint after waking up just a few seconds ago.

 

"May, I know this is bad, I know it is, but you have to get out of here! A crazy guy installed bombs all over our apartment _and you need to go! Now!"_ The boy screamed while stirring some cables and squeezing different parts of the device.

 

May put a hand on her chest while her breathing accelerated, leaning against one of the walls the woman protested. " ** _Are you crazy!? How am I going to leave you here while this is happening! Peter Parker, get off the roof right now and let's get out of here!_** " The woman yelled hysterically while trying to control her legs. She was failing.

 

" ** _We can't let the others here!_** " Peter protested, his hands were shaking but he had to concentrate, he could deactivate them and he knew it. He just had to concentrate.

 

" _Then let's evacuate the building! Get down, Peter!"_ Her aunt shouted frantically again. The woman was losing her mind.

 

"By that time, the bombs would've killed us already!" Peter tried again to explain while cutting one of the small wires with a knife. He was sure the bomb was going to explode in his face, but nothing happened.

 

Peter frowned as he watched the bomb carefully.

_What?_

 

"Peter ... **_c'mon, c'mon,_** get off, right away. Get off that roof!" May approached where the boy was and spread her arms up.

 

" _What happened_ -"

 

"Listen to your aunt and get off the roof, kid! Get out of the building, the others are being evacuated right now." Peter jumped when he heard the familiar voice of his ex-mentor leave the roof of his apartment. Ok, what the hell was happening.

 

"Peter, **_listen to him and get off!"_** May ordered hysterically. The woman no longer had patience. With a single leap, Peter climbed down from the ceiling and let his aunt drag him out of the apartment until they reached the emergency stairs. _Why didn't May seem surprised about Mr. Stark talking from their roof? Why and how did Mr. Stark know about the situation?_

 

People were stumbling over each other desperately trying to get out. In the distance, Peter could hear the bark of one of his neighbor's dogs; Puffy. Oh no. Peter let go of his aunt's grip to run off in the direction of the sound. He heard his aunt complain and shout but the voice was lost among the sea of people.

 

When he arrived at his neighbor's apartment, he inspected the place and then found the small dog locked in one of the closets. Oh, Mr. Jackson, I didn't know you were a dog killer. Peter thought with some anger.

 

He started to force the door quickly but when he it didn't respond, so he broke the handle to take the dog in his arms. The little one didn't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation and chose to jump out of his arms and then run in circles over the apartment, Peter went after him with anger and desperation. Most of the people were already outside and he was still inside.

 

"Puffy, _come back here!"_ Peter yelled while chasing the little dog. In the distance he heard two things at the same time.

 

A **timer** _and the_ _familiar sound of some repulsors._

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

_Peter closed his eyes tightly_ , he couldn't remember what happened after _that._

 

"Don't try to force yourself, Peter, you need rest. Your aunt said she was coming to see you later, when the apartment issue was solved but right now, you need to rest."

 

Peter heard what Bruce said but wasn't ready to rest. He didn't want to rest. He wanted answers, again.

 

He turned his head to the left and looked at the balloons and the cards his friends had sent. How much time had passed?

_"Sleep, kid."_

 

Peter raised his head abruptly, provoking an instantaneous headache. He felt a hand on his forehead.

 

"You need stop doing that."

 

Peter raised his head a little to watch Mr. Stark look at him with concern, his hand still on his forehead.

 

_He gently removed his ex-mentor's hand._

 

"What happened?" He asked without preamble.

 

The man tried to pretend he wasn't hurt by the rejection with a sniff. "You were a _goddamn_ hero again instead of _using your head_."

****

**_Wow_ **

****

**_Ouch._ **

 

"Are you saying that you would let the dog die?" His breathing was beginning to slow steadily. Bruce sent a warning glare to his ex-mentor.

 

"Calm down, the dog is fine. _You on the other hand?_ Nope." Tony tried to contain his anger and need to scold the boy with sarcasm.

 

Peter rolled his eyes _. "Don't answer me then."_

 

Tony watched the kid carefully, obviously the impact had caused him some slight bruises but the shock of almost dying for a dog was still there.

 

"I'm fine, you can go back to _your work."_ **_Ouch._** It was like looking at a mirror, him saying the same thing to Howard.

 

"I _don't_ care about my work":

 

_"That doesn't mean I matter more."_

 

Tony frowned. He was going to start talking again when Bruce interrupted him.

 

"It's not time for this, I need you to rest, Peter and this time I'm serious." The man's voice didn't leave room to discussions. Peter and Tony continued with their staring contest for a few more seconds until Tony decided to look away, letting the boy rest.

 

"I'll be back when it's time for you to put food in those skinny bones of yours, thanks, Doc." Tony let out another sniff as he backed awkwardly out of the room.

 

_Peter stayed still for a while._

 

"Don't let that discourage you, he's been watching you for the 48 hours you've been here, so don't think he's-" Peter was going to protest and say that he wasn't discouraged when he focused on the last thing Bruce told him.

 

_48 hours?_

_Oh, God._

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"What do you mean they couldn't rescue anything from the apartment? I thought you had everything under control." May whispered in exasperation as she looked carefully at her sides, trying not to be seen.

 

"And I had it under control but your nephew; _the hero_ , always takes the right path and ruins things." Tony complained as he walked from one place to another.

 

"Ok, is this your technique of going undercover? Because _it's not_ working." May adjusted her hat a bit so she could observe the man.

 

"Where did you learn that wearing a cap helps go undercover?" He answered back as he looked between the glass walls to confirm that no one was watching them. "Because Steve Rogers always sucks at his missions every time he uses _his stupid cap_."

 

May let out a heavy sigh. "Listen, you promised me that Peter was going to be safe, that if you walked away and let him live his life everything would be better but ..."

 

_Tony stopped his walk but didn't turn around._

 

" **This is not helping any of you two. I can see it, Tony** , I can see how you try to get out of what happened, how you try to get over my nephew and while the _adorable pills_ you have over there help out for a certain amount of time, you know more than anyone else that your pain can't be treated with _temporary remedies_." Tony squeezed the pills he had been contemplating taking out of his pocket.

 

"Besides, phenelzine shouldn't be _abused under any circumstances."_

 

Tony squeezed the bottle of pills a little more, his hands were starting to sweat. _"I know."_

 

"You told me the boy that invaded my apartment was an old partner's son. Obadiah Stane, right? But you never mentioned anything about the woman, you know exactly what they're trying to do with Peter and there's no going back, Tony. Not right now. I need you to prepare because my nephew needs your help and you know it. "

 

_"I'm ..."_ He started but stopped, frozen. Oh no, this couldn't be happening again. He didn't want to have an episode in front of May. **_Not again..._**

 

May sighed, she knew what was coming right now, he was having an episode... _The good thing was Peter wasn't around to witness the tragic stuff his mentor's been hiding_. She lowered her cap once more so she could approach and help the man in front of her.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Peter held his breath as he tried not to hear what was happening in the other room. What was happening to Mr. Stark? How did May know about everything that was happening?

 

_Wait._

 

**_Oh_ **

****

**_OH_ **

 

He felt as if his heart slipped and fell where his stomach should be. He leaned against one of the walls while trying to control his breathing. **_Oh, God, oh God._**

 

**_No..._ **

****

**_Why?_ **

****

**_This is not..._ **

 

His mind repeated thousands of things he dismissed over the last six months and how May didn't seem to notice them. She didn't notice them because she already knew what was happening.

 

She knew from the beginning.

 

Peter walked over to one of the waste bins in the office and let out the little food Bruce had given him.

 

_"No ..."_ Peter watched his trembling hands. _Why was this happening to him?_

 

_Strange told him. He warned him._

 

And Peter didn't listen to him. Now that he had his answers, he wasn't sure he wanted them.

 

He closed his eyes and tried to count every beat of his heart to try to calm down. Without realizing it, he began to hear other person's beats. He began to count. The other person's breathing accelerated at times and sometimes decreased but his heartbeat remained steady somehow.

 

He knew that little habit of his was left behind when Tony had cut contact with him but ... sometimes the heart wins over the mind.

_And this was one of those occasions._

 

By the time he had managed to calm down, Tony had done it too. At the same time.

_How did he know?_

 

He could feel Tony reclining on the same wall as him but on opposite sides. And he wasn't sure that this was a metaphor, but this seems to be ballad both of them live in all the time. Both only know how to survive from the balance of the other.

 

_As usual._

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Bruce sighed in exasperation as he watched the sleeping boy. He had managed to locate Peter in one of the conference offices. The boy had been about to go to sleep reclining on one of the walls.

 

He closed his eyes for a few moments. That had been six hours ago and he was sure what was coming would psychologically harm the boy even more.

_But it was the only way to protect him._

 

He turned his head to nod slightly at the blond-haired woman. "Wake him, the woman must be down waiting for him."

 

Nat nodded as she went to wake the boy; something no one wanted to do at that moment.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Tony was standing in the middle of the reception of his company, around him were all the Avengers, people he loved, people he knew and people that worked for him pointing their guns and weapons towards the woman in front of him. He knew this whole mess had been going on for a while but still remained as tense as four hours ago.

 

"I told you I'm coming for the boy, Stark, so get off." Loni Stane. _The hidden wife of Obadiah Stane. Mother of Ezekiel Stane. The woman that hated Tony with all her soul for letting her husband die. The woman that was going to ruin her life **no** **matter what.**_

 

She had found a way to do it. Easy. The bombs were made by Stark Industries, apparently Obadiah was not only dealing with weapons behind his back but he had also been stealing them. Denoting the bombs destroyed all information that was in the Parker's apartment. All of it. From official documents to birth certificates without mentioning that the woman had taken the liberty to erase all information pertaining to Peter from the system. And Tony's biggest mistake? Delete all the information he had of Peter too.

 

His reasons were different, while Tony had done it to protect him and let him live his life, Loni had taken advantage of the situation to make the boy a total ghost and kidnap him. Lie to the world and take the innocent boy with her.

 

She wasn't aware of the danger everyone was in. She is a woman with mental problems at a higher level and nobody had time to deal with that. No one.

 

She wanted to take Peter, he knew this. There were no records, information, certificates, documents that said Peter was in the May Parker's custody. The woman had erased all the information. She could go to a court and win the case with ease.

_Who would the judge believe?_

 

The widowed woman who had suffered for many years trying to find her "lost son" or Tony Stark; recently recognized for his impulsive bad habits?

 

He was sure he had some sort of information saved of Peter somewhere, _but they didn't have time._

 

"Back off."

 

"If I were you, I would calm down, _lady."_ Rhodey walked until he was next to his best friend. The Stark Industries briefcase at hand. _Full of money,_ ready to be delivered to the woman.

 

"What's going on?" Everyone in the room turned their heads to observe the boy who was looking scared at the situation. Peter looked at the woman in front of Tony, he recognized her from somewhere but didn't know where.

 

"Peter, this woman is Loni Stane. _I'm sure_ you know who she is." Natasha told the kid when she saw nobody was willing to answer.

 

Peter looked at the woman with a scary feeling. He knew who she was. She is the woman who wanted to take him away. He had listened to Bruce and Mr. Rhodes discuss about this before they put him on anesthetics after they found him in the office.

 

That woman wanted to take him for revenge. She had put the bombs in the apartment with her son. She had deleted him from the system. _She wanted to take him away._

 

He looked around him. Everyone was there. _Peter was so confused_. Everyone had a gun except for a few people.

 

_Was that Ned? And his friends too? What were his friends doing there? How?_

 

He saw Strange somewhere in the crowd of people. Hidden. _What the hell was going on?_

 

Peter felt his legs give in just to be supported by Bruce.

_This was an endless nightmare._

 

Tony didn't look at the boy. The man looked more determined than ever, even more determined than when they were about to face Thanos.

 

"I'm willing to give you **_a_ nything** for him." Tony let out abruptly, the tension in his shoulders was starting to hurt.

 

Loni let out a mocking snort. "I don't want a few million dollars from you, _I want the boy."_

 

Tony had to admit the woman was quite brave. A few weapons aimed at her and the woman seemed to have the situation in control. Anyone could arrest her at any minute but no one dared to do so. _Why?_

_Maybe the fact that May Parker was missing was one of the reasons._

 

"I want the boy too." Tony responded with determination. Peter seemed to have regained the mobility of his legs and broke free of Bruce's grip to walk to where Tony was.

 

"Oh, hello, little one." The woman offered the boy a manic smile. Peter tried to hide his shudder. Tony placed himself in front of the boy with a protective posture.

 

"Don't talk to him, don't even look at him." He snapped as he sent a warning glance at the woman.

 

The woman let out a small laugh. "Wow, wow ... this is interesting ... Are you attached to the boy?" She asked sarcastically. She knew how much the boy meant to Tony. She had been observing him for two years. Two years were enough to start her plan.

 

"Two million." Tony started.

 

"I don't want two million, that doesn't hurt, that's what you give as a hobby every day, Stark, and this is not a hobby, I want you to feel this." She replied while doing the act of watching her nails with relaxation.

 

"Eight million and your son will have his life assured." He offered again. She shook her head.

 

_"I don't think so."_

 

"Tell me your price, tell me what else you want other than him and I'll give it to you. **_Anything_** " Desperation.

 

Peter let out a small sigh of surprise. He tried to walk until he was on Mr. Stark's left side but the man put him back behind him with his arm.

 

The woman looked at Tony with a suspicious smile. Intrigued.

 

"Anything?" She questioned as she approached him.

 

"Anything."

 

There was a long pause, full of anxiety. Full of everything. No one dared to move.

 

"Well, Stark, I want your properties. All of them" The woman arched both eyebrows as she looked at Tony with challenge in her eyes.

 

"No, You can't-"

****

**_"Done."_ **

 

Peter looked at Tony with surprise. His heart was beating too fast to be healthy.

 

**_What_ **

 

_Several gasps_ could be heard _then_ silence flooded the room. It was like if someone _had stopped time somehow._

 

Loni snorted, as if she didn't believe him.

 

"No, wait, _this is not-"_ Peter tried again but was interrupted again.

 

"Nah, this come and go easy for you, you can easily buy more, we'll deal with something more ... important." Peter noticed how the woman looked at the briefcase that Rhodey was holding and watched with interest the letters written on it. Peter began to shake his head slowly. _Oh no._

 

"Your _company,_ I want _your company_." Loni spoke without preamble and with enough arrogance to ensure her victory.

****

**_"Done."_** Even Stane couldn't stop the gasp that came out of her mouth. _The entire room blew up._ Peter felt like he was going to fall to the floor. His head now was turning irrevocably.

 

" _What!?"_ Rhodey

 

"Tony, _what the fuck_?" Happy, _always eloquent._

 

" **Oh my God,** I-i think I'm going to have a heart attack." Pepper, _of course._

 

"Enough, _don't do this,_ Mr. Stark, no-" _Peter._ With his heart in his hand and his legs trembling.

_"Think about this, Tony_!" Bruce, _Always the good friend._

 

"Well... he _actually_ said it..." Strange whisperer to himself. He actually was a little impressed. _Huh._

 

" _Holy shit..."_ Ned whispered. The rest of the kids watched the scene with similar expressions _. No one could believe this was happening._

 

" _Stark ..."_ Natasha watched in amazement at the man in front of the room.

 

This man had sacrificed his life and his mental health _to bring everyone back._ **_No,_** she knew that was not it, she knew that Tony had made all the _sacrifice for someone else._ At first she thought it had been for Pepper or maybe the other boy; Harley, and they might have been part of the reason but it was not the motivation, they weren’t _the real reason._ The boy who was in the middle of the room _was the real reason and Natasha was sure of this now._

 

"You can see it now, can't you?" Natasha turned her head to see _Clint_ watch Tony with a _strange twinkle_ in his eyes. She nodded slowly while analyzing her friend's face.

 

" ** _Tony!_** Stop saying ridiculous t-things!" Pepper snapped from her place while trying to sound authoritative, but she knew her voice had come out more like a trembling mess than anything.

 

" _Huh,_ you think I'm going to believe you, I know you must have _some twisted plan_ to fool me somehow, Stark, I'm not a fool, _now tell me-"_

 

"Linda, bring me all the necessary forms, memorandum and articles to make the process as soon as possible. And, this is your new boss, by the way" Linda, one of the board meeting directors, observed her boss like the deer in the headlights. _She wasn’t sure what to do._

 

"Ok, so _since we're playing now_ ... I want your _Iron Man suits."_ Loni smirked. She was sure this time Stark was _going to surrender._

 

" _Sure,_ they're in the labs and since my company is going to be yours _soon_ , then you can find them there. _A little warning,_ be careful with Dum-E, he may be not so nice to _strangers_."

 

" ** _No, no, no,_** Mr. Stark is just kidding, okay? _There's no reason-"_ Peter, again, was silenced.

 

" _And I want all of your cars_ and I want _more than ten million dollars_ in each bank account _I own_." Stane began to increase the list, hoping to see some kind of hesitation in the man's face but was growing anxious to see that _there was no sign of it._

 

_"I-I'm going to throw up_ , **_I'm going to throw up."_** Pepper said while covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to let the vomit escape. Happy rubbed his hands on his pants to remove the sweat from them. This was crazy _. Extremely crazy._

 

Peter was sure _he couldn't feel any part of his body,_ everything inside him was frozen. He kept watching Tony with his eyes wide open, sweat running down his forehead and he was sure the tears wanted to come out _but his brain was so frozen._

 

Rhodey stopped complaining after his best friend gave up his suits _. He knew._ He knew that Tony was going _to give everything_ _for_ Peter. _His suits. His houses. His company. His fortune. Everything. No matter what. He also knew that there was nothing that could stop him._

 

"Stop playing games, _Stark,_ are you really going to give away your company and your belongings just for _one_ brat?" Loni rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, she still didn't believe it.

 

"As a matter of fact, _I just did."_ It was the simple response of the man.

 

"And you think I'm going to believe you-" The woman was interrupted when she saw Tony press buttons on his watch and _a screen spread out in the air._

 

_"F.R.I.D.A.Y."_

 

"The documents are being fixed right now, boss. When Mrs. Stane is ready to sign, she must go to the main conference room to make the deal official."

 

Peter inhaled and exhaled forcefully, _this was not happening_. This was **_not_** happening. He grabbed Tony's arm to get the man's attention. Tony turned his head towards the boy.

 

"W-we need to _talk."_ Peter began to pull on the arm of his father figure while ignoring the claims of the other people in the room. When he reached an empty conference room the kid locked the door.

 

"W-what are you doing? ** _Are you crazy!?_** Mr. Stark, you can't do this, I understand that you feel guilty but this is not a solution- "

 

"Do you think I'm doing this _because I feel guilty_?" Tony raised an eyebrow. Clearly, the man was holding himself but he was not going to show it.

_"Of course!_ And you're going to cancel any ridiculous paperwork you're doing right now!" Peter tried to sound threatening but he was sure _he looked like an angry Bambi._

 

Tony smiled tenderly. " _What if I say no_?

 

"W-well then you-u and then ... you're really ... this n-no" Peter stuttered nervously as he moved his arms uncontrollably. He hated when Tony did this. Tony stretched his smile.

 

_"Stop doing that!"_ Peter snapped as he tried to keep _his_ smile under control. " _Don't distract me!_ This is not going to happen! You're not going to give all your things for me, **_it's silly!"_**

 

"Why is silly, again?"

 

" ** _Because I'm not worth it!_** I’m not worth losing all of your stuff! **_Understand this already!_** You understood it before, _why not now!?"_ Peter exploded. _He couldn't contain it anymore._

 

"Ok, _that's enough_ , Peter, we have to go back to the room." Tony dropped his smile as he took a more serious position and began to walk to the door.

 

" ** _No,_** we're not going anywhere until you tell me you're going to cancel everything! **_I'm not worth it! I'm not worth it!_** " Peter screamed again as he chased after the man across the room.

 

" ** _Stop!_** " Tony turned abruptly to face the boy. _Now he was angry_. He had always been, but until now, there wasn't anything that would've taken the band-aid from his heart. _This time? Yes._

 

Both could hear the handle of the door turn abruptly. Someone was banging on the door violently.

 

"Tony, **_get out of there!_** You promised me! _You promised me!_ " Pepper's broken voice could be heard on the other side of the door.

 

" _You hear that?_ You know why you can't do this! _You don't have to-_ " Peter looked at him in desperation, the tears were coming out.

 

" ** _Zip it!_** " Peter wanted to roll his eyes when he heard the repetitive phrase but he had so many emotions inside that he was sure that he would lose his mind if he did. " _Stop saying you're not worth it_ , I've heard you say it a million times, Peter and **_it's enough._** You will not say it again from now on, _you wanna know why, huh?_ Because you are **_so_** worth it that not even _being poor, my wife leaving me, not having a home, not having friends will stop me_ from proving it to you, and if I have _to sell a part of my body to prove it I would do it **. This is not to guilt. This is not pity, much less sympathy. This is what you are worth**_ and I'm sure _you are worth much more_ than all my belongings and the Avengers' combined! So **_stop_** saying stupid things and let's get out of here to complete the _damn deal_ with that crazy woman. _Understand!?_ " Peter was panting, his hands were shaking. In a last attempt to stop him, he shook his head as he stepped back, _away from the man._

 

Tony rolled his eyes in exasperation and grabbed the boy and threw him to his chest. Tony swore he would never leave him again. **_Never._**

 

 

 

 

 

**_._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can someone tell me how to remove the notes from the chapter? The previous ones don't want to disappear, lmao.


	6. I'm sorry

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Hi!

 

I'm sorry there is not chapter here. I just wanted to apologize because I'm not going to be able to continue with the story. It's not only the fact that it's a lot of pressure and I wanted to deliver something that you guys were going to enjoy, but I have very limited time, I work and study at the same time and when I find time I write, but it's too much for me right now. I can also see that many of you don't even understand what's going on and for future reference please wait until the author of the story continues with the plot so it can be revealed.

 

Also, I wanted to add something very important, this acc belongs to one of my best friends, I don't know how (when or why) many of you found out her tumblr but please stop sending her hate, I'm writing the story, not her. So she doesn't deserve the hate. Please be polite next time you guys complain about something you don't like, it's not necessary to call someone an "illiterate bitch" or writing stuff like "please just stop writing". Like I said, I'm writing the story, not her. I wanted to finish, there were at least 24 chapters more but it gets way more complicated and I don't think many of you like the story or understand it and that's ok. You're allowed to not like something, however, I recommend not sending anon hate in tumblr for it. I should've told you all that the acc belonged to a different person but I never imagined that the story would get that much backlash and hate.

 

Thank you so much for leaving your lovely comments, it meant a lot to me! You guys were so sweet! Maybe I'll write something else in the future and I hope to get my own acc for it. Apparently, you need to wait on a list to get accepted in ao3. Anyways, thanks for all the support! ;)

 

 

 

 

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**Author's Note:**

> Is Tony still watching Peter like a hawk after all this time? Find out next chapter, don't forget to leave a comment :)


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